The United States on Friday blacklisted three Iran-backed Iraqi paramilitary lea...
BAGHDAD/WASHINGTON - The United States on Friday blacklisted three Iran-backed Iraqi paramilitary leaders over their alleged role in killings of anti-government protesters in Iraq and threatened future sanctions if violence against demonstrators continued.
Washington would be ready to impose further sanctions on others over the killings of protesters if the violence did not stop, David Schenker, Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs, told reporters in a briefing.The sanctions target Qais al-Khazali, leader of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq Iran-backed militia and his brother Laith al-Khazali, another leader of the group, according to a statement from the U.S. Treasury Department.
Iraqi paramilitary groups deny any role in the deaths of protesters, who have demonstrated against the government for more than two months. Security forces have killed more than 400 mostly unarmed protesters, police and medics say. Senior U.S. Treasury officials said the violent crackdown on protests was “causing even more political instability.”
Iran-backed armed groups and politicians have dominated Iraq’s state institutions since a U.S.-led invasion in 2003 that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein, plunged the country into years of civil war and destroyed infrastructure. Tension between Washington and Tehran has ramped up as U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration blames Iran for a series of attacks on oil infrastructure in the Gulf and bases hosting U.S. troops in Iraq. Iran denies involvement in the attacks.
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