ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - US Congressman Joe Wilson on Saturday slammed Iraq’s “corrupt” judiciary head Faiq Zidan for thanking armed factions in the country for agreeing to hand over weapons to the state, describing the chief justice’s remarks as “among the most dangerous threats to justice and the state itself.”

In a Saturday statement, Zidan, President of the Supreme Judicial Council, thanked leaders of the armed factions “for responding to his advice regarding cooperating to enforce the rule of law, confining weapons to the state, and transitioning to political action now that the national need for military action has ceased.”

Zidan’s remakes come amid mounting pressure from the US on the Iraqi government to limit the expanding role of Iran-backed Shiite armed groups in the country. Washington is reportedly pushing Baghdad to dissolve all armed factions, including the state-integrated Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).

Wilson, a vocal anti-Iran lawmaker, reprimanded Zidan for his comments, saying his language “does not reflect the conduct of a state institution nor that of a neutral judiciary,” but rather “shows a communication channel and an ongoing relationship between the judiciary leadership and militia factions.”

“This rhetoric confirms that the issue is not about upholding the rule of law, but about role overlap and attempting to send political messages under judicial cover,” the South Carolina Republican representative added.

Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba, two US-designated Iran-backed Iraqi militias, rebuffed the disarmament calls on Saturday, saying they maintain the right to “resistance” as long as there are foreign forces present in the country. 

Wilson has repeatedly urged the US government to exert more pressure on Baghdad due to its relations with Tehran. In May, he called for cutting all foreign aid to Iraq, sanctioning Iraq’s importation of Iranian gas, and designating the Iraqi state-linked PMF as a foreign terrorist group.