ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The US State Department on Monday warned against threats directed at American personnel, days after a prominent pro-Iran armed group in Iraq threatened US Special Envoy to Iraq Mark Savaya. 

Akram al-Kaabi, head of the Iran-backed Harakat al-Nujaba, on Wednesday threatened Savaya, saying that “if you do not silence him, the Islamic resistance will stuff a stone in his mouth,” after repeated remarks by the US envoy calling for disarming pro-Iran militias. 

“We condemn any threats against US personnel,” the State Department told The New Region, adding that Washington “constantly monitors and evaluates threat information and adjusts our security and operating postures accordingly.” 

It further stressed that the US “has and will continue to speak clearly to the urgency in dismantling Iran-backed militias that undermine Iraq’s sovereignty, threaten Americans and Iraqis, and pilfer Iraqi resources for Iran.” 

In the Wednesday statement, Kaabi accused Savaya of having “betrayed his country and was not loyal to it, but rather ungrateful and disloyal.” 

Harakat al-Nujaba is part of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella network of Iran-backed militias, many of whom have been designated as terrorist organizations by the US. 

Kaabi accused the US envoy of being a “traitor to his country who has thrown himself into the arms of his occupiers, who came recklessly and disregarding the sovereignty of Iraq, rolling up his sleeves to steal the resources of his country and place them in the hands of his foolish American master.”

His remarks came during a visit by US Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Michael Rigas, where he met several Iraqi and Kurdish leaders before inaugurating the world’s biggest US consular compound in Erbil. 

Savaya, a Chaldean of Iraqi descent, is an entrepreneur and businessman in Detroit, who was appointed as US special envoy to Iraq by US President Donald Trump on October 19.

In September, Washington designated Harakat al-Nujaba as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), among three other Iran-backed Iraqi factions. Savaya has repeatedly warned against the influence of pro-Iran militias in Iraq, cautioning the risk it poses to Baghdad’s sovereignty. 

Savaya is expected to make his first visit to Iraq in an official capacity as the US envoy in the coming weeks. 

The US has ramped up efforts to curb Iranian influence in Iraq and limit the expanding role of Iran-backed Shiite armed groups in the country, who enjoy a similar level of governance and authority as the state forces. 

Washington’s concerns, however, are often dismissed by Iraqi authorities who claim that Baghdad’s cooperation with Tehran is based on Iraq’s national interests and is an extension of the country making decisions as an independent sovereign state.