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A powerful Iran-backed Iraqi armed group has instructed its members to prepare for the possibility of a prolonged war in neighboring Iran if the United States launches strikes.
Kataeb Hezbollah warned the U.S. on Thursday of “immense losses” if it initiates a war in the region. A commander from an armed faction told AFP that his group is “highly likely” to intervene in the event of strikes.
“Amid American threats and military build-up indicating a dangerous escalation in the region, it is necessary” for all fighters “to prepare for a potentially long war of attrition,” Kataeb Hezbollah said in a statement.
The commander said the group considers Iran strategic to its interests, adding that any attack on the Islamic Republic “directly threatens us.”
U.S.-sanctioned Iraqi armed groups did not intervene during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran last year.
This time, the commander said they would be “less restrained,” particularly in the case of strikes aimed at overthrowing the regime.
For months during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Iran-backed groups carried out attacks against U.S. troops in the region and mostly unsuccessful attempts against Israel.
Under increasing U.S. and domestic pressure, those attacks halted, while calls for the groups to disarm intensified.
Iran-backed groups are part of the so-called “axis of resistance,” which includes Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen.
A Hezbollah official told AFP this week that the Lebanese movement would not intervene militarily in the event of “limited” U.S. strikes on Iran but would consider any attack against supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei a “red line.”
U.S. President Donald Trump has deployed warships and fighter jets near Iran to reinforce threats of strikes if ongoing negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program fail to reach a deal.
U.S. and Iranian negotiators met for a third round of talks on Thursday. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told state television that the discussions “made very good progress.”
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