Iran-Backed Militias: Are They Planning Something Big?

Iranian - backed militias in Iraq claimed credit for two attacks on Israel this week. The “ Islamic resistance” in Iraq claimed that it struck a “vital target deep in the occupied Palestinian. As the Pentagon ramps up regional defence, US intelligence has warned that Iran may activate proxy militias across Iraq and Syria to carry out coordinated retaliation. This explainer looks at key US military installations that could be in Iran’s crosshairs, and why they matter. What Has Triggered Iran’s Latest Warning? For the most part, the regional militias that make up Iran ’s “axis of resistance” have been keen to sit out the latest fight with Israel, and this posture of deliberate inaction is more focused, purposeful, and cohesive than their response to the outbreak of the Gaza war in 2023. In early February, the Biden administration expanded strikes to include targets against Iran 's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps and its affiliated militias in Iraq and Syria. Many have misinterpreted these strikes, and even argued against them, as unlikely to achieve deterrence. But they are not designed to achieve that outcome. Several powerful Iranian - backed militia groups in Iraq are prepared to disarm for the first time to avert the threat of an escalating conflict with the U.S. Trump administration, 10 senior. The US has intelligence that Iranian - backed militia groups are planning to ramp up attacks against US forces in the Middle East, as Iran seeks to capitalize on the backlash in the region to. There are approximately 40 militant groups backed by Iran in the region, Baraa Shiban, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a British defense and security think-tank,. A string of Iranian -funded armed groups across the region are launching attacks as the conflict in Gaza continues, including a drone strike that killed three US troops. US military and intelligence officials have detected signs that Iran-backed militias are planning to attack US bases in Iraq and possibly in Syria , according to a report by the New York Times. Militant groups backed by Iran , which supports Hamas and for years has engaged in a shadow war with Israel, have joined in. These groups — part of Iran ’s so-called axis of resistance — have.