Security
Harakat al-Nujaba threatens the region's energy grid and Iraq's stability
Iraq's most aggressive pro-Iran militia has named US bases and Arab power plants as legitimate targets, exposing Tehran's strategy.
![Men register to join the so-called "Martyrs' Brigades" under the umbrella of Iraq's pro-Iran armed group Harakat al-Nujaba, which called on Iraqis to volunteer to fight alongside Iran, on January 30, 2026. Al-Hillah, Iraq. [Karrar Jabbar/AFP]](/gc1/images/2026/04/23/55672-han-600_384.webp)
By Al-Fassel |
A military aide within the pro-Iran militia Harakat al-Nujaba (HAN) issued a sweeping regional threat.
Abdul Qader al-Karbalai posted on X that all US interests, bases and energy facilities are now legitimate targets.
He warned that operations would begin by early April, with "absolutely no red lines."
This escalation signals reckless economic warfare, not merely military posturing against opposing armed forces.
By naming energy facilities as targets, HAN moves toward attacks threatening entire regional power grids and undermining Iraq's neutrality.
Analysts at the Washington Institute warn that these threats serve Tehran's interests without the Iranian regime needing to act directly.
Striking Arab energy assets through proxies gives Iran maximum impact while maintaining a plausible distance from direct responsibility.
The connection to Iranian state strategy is deliberate and unmistakable to regional observers and analysts.
HAN Secretary-General Akram al-Kaabi declared that neutrality "is no longer an option," pledging a prolonged war of attrition against US forces.
His position aligns HAN's operations directly with the Iranian regime's broader regional escalation strategy.
Unlike other Iraqi militias, HAN has no political arm and focuses exclusively on militant activity.
This makes HAN the Iranian regimes' most unrestrained and operationally dangerous proxy force.
Iraq's sovereignty remains the silent but devastating casualty of these irresponsible threats by HAN.
Pro-Iran factions inside Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces maintain independent command structures with direct lines to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Baghdad proclaims neutrality, yet militias operating freely on its soil tell a different story.
Strikes have already hit Iraqi military sites, Baghdad and Erbil airports and intelligence headquarters.
Jordan, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have all appeared on HAN-affiliated target maps, raising an urgent alarm.
As US-Iran negotiations continue, one question dominates the regional capitals: can Baghdad stop a militia that answers only to Tehran?