ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraq’s Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah on Thursday said that US interference in Iraq, if not confronted, would push the country towards political dependency and “normalization,” following US President Donald Trump’s criticism of Nouri al-Maliki’s bid for premiership.

Trump on Tuesday warned that Washington will no longer help Baghdad if Maliki becomes the next prime minister, criticizing his “insane policies and ideologies.” 

"Because of his insane policies and ideologies, if elected, the United States of America will no longer help Iraq and, if we are not there to help, Iraq has ZERO chance of Success, Prosperity, or Freedom,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

In a statement, Kataib Hezbollah asserted that if the US policy is “not met with resistance and confrontation, [it] amounts to pushing Iraq toward a path of submission and surrender to the dominance and tyranny of the American occupier, and sliding into the quagmire of dependency and normalization.”

Israel’s efforts to normalize ties with Arab nations across the Middle East and North Africa began with the Abraham Accords, signed in 2020 to formalize commercial and diplomatic ties between Israel and three Arab nations, which were part of a Trump-led initiative to promote long-term stability in the Middle East.

However, Iraq has taken a firm stance against these efforts and maintained a staunch position in support of the Palestinian cause.

The group further dubbed Trump’s remarks as a “blatant interference” that falls within the framework of “a series of systematic interventions in which American parties sought to impose their tutelage over the course of Iraqi political decision-making.”

It called on the country’s forces to take a unified stance “rejecting this humiliating domination,” arguing that Washington’s assertions carry “a clear political indication aimed at placing Iraq within the circle of US guardianship, whereby America appoints whomever it wants and removes whomever it wants.”

Trump’s warning against Maliki’s election “undermines the essence of sovereignty and exposes the involvement of certain parties in seeking strength through foreign lobbies,” according to the Shiite militia.

The pro-Iran paramilitary group was designated as a terrorist organization by the US in 2009 and has since been the subject of several US sanctions. Washington has repeatedly called for the disarmament of armed groups within Iraq, claiming that the presence of such factions undermines Iraq’s sovereignty.

Washington has ramped up efforts to curb Tehran’s influence in Iraq, particularly by targeting Iran-backed militias, such as Kataib Hezbollah, as well as financial entities and networks that finance the militias and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).