BAGHDAD (Dispatches) -- Kataib Hezbollah official Abu Mujahid al-Assaf issued a warning to Baghdad on Tuesday, urging the authorities to halt a U.S.-endorsed crackdown on the Iraqi resistance.
According to the official, the Iraqi resistance is “running out of patience” with Baghdad. 
The crackdown reportedly comes as part of Washington’s mounting pressure on Baghdad to disarm the Iraqi resistance, and in line with the September 30 deadline issued by the Iraqi government for all armed groups to hand over arms.
It has involved the arrest of senior figures recently, including Abbas Hussein al-Yaqoubi, a senior official in the Al-Nujaba Movement and an intelligence official in the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU).
Assaf said that Iraq’s resistance will not discuss its arms with the government until Baghdad secures a “complete departure” of U.S. troops from the country. 
This includes both Iraq’s “land” and “airspace,” the official went on to say, while demanding guarantees that U.S. forces do not return.
He also demanded a withdrawal of Turkish forces, which have also occupied Iraq for years.
“Our patience is running out over the prime minister’s provocative and irresponsible actions,” Assaf said about Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, who met with U.S. President Donald Trump recently.
Additionally, Assaf demanded the dissolution of Kurdish Peshmerga forces. He referred to the Peshmerga as “the most heavily armed and dangerous militia to Iraq’s unity.”
On August 17, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani’s office was allegedly targeted by drones. 
The KRG runs Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, which hosts U.S. and Israeli-backed groups strongly opposed to the Iraqi resistance. 
Some of these groups were heavily involved in the deadly riots and terror attacks which took place across Iran in January 2026.
Trump’s administration has adopted a significantly more coercive approach than its predecessors to disarming the Iraqi resistance, stepping up pressure on Baghdad in recent months to dismantle the resistance factions swiftly.
Washington reportedly froze security programs with Baghdad and blocked dollar shipments to the country earlier this year to pressure Iraq into dismantling resistance groups.
Due to U.S. pressure, late last month, Baghdad issued a September 30 deadline for the disarmament of all armed factions in Iraq, including resistance movements.
After months of sustained U.S. demands, some armed organizations have agreed to turn over weapons to the state. Many others, including resistance groups Kataib Hezbollah and Al-Nujaba Movement, have refused.
Iraqi resistance groups demand a full U.S. withdrawal, rather than the “transitional” pullout agreed on between the U.S. and Iraq, which will see Washington shift from a “combat” to an “advisory” role, while still retaining a military presence in the country.
At the height of the illegal U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, these resistance groups inflicted heavy damage on U.S. assets in Iraq.