Warning from Iranian-backed Militia Group to American Marines

On Monday, April 2, Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, a Shiite militia group in Iraq supported by Iran, announced that it considers American Marines stationed in Iraq to combat the Islamic State (ISIS) as "occupying forces" and will "confront" them. Washington announced on Sunday that a unit of its Marines, referred to as the "26th Marine Expeditionary Unit," has been deployed to Iraq to assist in the fight against ISIS. According to Reuters, Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq responded to this news in a televised message stating, "If the U.S. government does not withdraw its forces immediately, we will treat them as occupying forces." The Shiite militia group added, "The occupying forces have begun new suspicious efforts to re-establish their presence in the country under the pretext of fighting the group they created themselves, namely ISIS." Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq is one of about 15 Shiite militia groups in the region that are supported by Iran and describe themselves as "defenders of the shrine." In 2010, the then-commander of U.S. forces in Iraq stated that Iran supports "three major Shiite extremist groups" that have attempted to attack U.S. bases: "Kata'ib Hezbollah, Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, and the Day of Judgment Brigade." However, John Kirby, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, stated on March 2 of this year that "the majority" of Shiite militia groups in Iraq have no ties to Iran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, while simultaneously fighting against the Islamic State group. Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, whose military activities are authorized by Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, a current member of the Assembly of Experts, is among the groups that believe in the "Guardianship of the Jurist" and the leadership of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In August and October 2014, two groups of Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq members traveled to Iran for military training and meetings with some senior clerics in Qom, which received significant media coverage at the time.