First Fox: A pair of House Republicans urges Secretary Marco Rubio to punish Iraq with sanctions on Iran's “complete conquest” as part of the US “maximum pressure” policy on Tehran.
“Over 4,400 American service members have sacrificed their lives since the start of the Iraq War, but today Iraq is nothing more than a Tehranian doll,” said Rep. Joe Wilson, Rs.C.
The letter held responsibility for the Obama administration, claiming that former President Barack Obama and his Iraqi envoy Brett McGurk “supported” Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
“The Obama administration doubled that mistake and relied on Iran-backed militias to fight ISIS,” the letter read. “The consequences of these failed decisions cannot be denied. The Iran-backed troops will wield unconfirmed powers over Iraq's government and security services.”
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A pair of House Republicans are urging Sec. Marco Rubio is to punish Iraq with sanctions on “complete conquest” by Iran as part of the US “maximum pressure” approach. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Since 2015, the US has provided billions more dollars to the Interior and Defense, as well as $1.25 billion in foreign military funding to the Iraqi military.
Iran's influence over Iraq was on full display, despite the fact that the US still partnered with local troops and had 2,500 troops to fight ISIS when Iraq issued an arrest warrant for President Donald Trump in the murder of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in 2021.
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Steube and Wilson have called on the US to cut all foreign aid to Iraq until it emerges from under Iranian influence.
The letter calls for the United States to sanction Iraq's imports of Iranian gas. Currently, only gas payments are sanctioned. That means Iran will give Iraq fuel for free, but hope for other ways to repay it. The Trump administration ended the exemption in March that allowed Iraq to purchase Iranian electricity.
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Iran, which depicts the special forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, has infiltrated the Iraqi army. (Morteza Nikoubazl/Nurphoto via Getty Images)
Lawmakers called for the popular mobilising forces, an Iran-backed paramilitary group operating in Iraq, and their financial aids to be designated as foreign terrorist groups and authorised Iraq's state banks to support Iran financially. They also called for sanctions against Iraqi politicians, which would allow Iran's influence to flourish.
“We encourage immediate measures to implement these necessary policies and ensure that American resources will no longer be used to support Iran's control over Iraq.”
The United States initially invaded Iraq in 2003, overthrew the government of Saddam Hussein, reduced the presence of the military from wartime levels in 2007, left for good in 2011, and returned to head of the coalition in 2014 to fight the Islamic state.
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Other countries, including Germany, France, Spain and Italy, have also contributed hundreds of troops to the coalition.
In September, reports emerged that the Biden administration had been working on a plan to reduce the presence of US troops in Iraq within a year, but no decisions were made on the inside of the stone.
Fox News Digital has requested comment from the State Department and the Iraqi Embassy.
