The National:

A bipartisan effort is under way in the US House of Representatives to find ways to diminish Iran’s influence in Iraq.

Republican Representative Joe Wilson and Democrat Jimmy Panetta introduced the “Free Iraq from Iran” bill this week, calling for the creation of an “inter-agency strategy” on the subject.

“I am grateful to introduce the Free Iraq from Iran Act,” Mr Wilson said in a post on X on Thursday. “This critical bipartisan bill will support the Iraqi people’s efforts to liberate their country from Iran.”

Mr Wilson, who is the former chairman of the Middle East House subcommittee, has been an outspoken critic of Iran and recently called on Washington to designate several Iraqi paramilitary groups with ties to Tehran as foreign terrorist organisations. Mr Panetta was part of a bipartisan coalition that last year introduced legislation to improve security and military readiness between the US and Abraham Accords signatories in an effort to counter Iran in the Middle East.

The new bill would direct agencies to develop a plan to aid Iraq in its efforts to rid itself of Iran’s influence. The strategy would be aimed at helping to “irreversibly dismantle all Iran-backed puppet militias in Iraq, including but not limited to the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), and end Iran’s dominance of Iraq’s political system”.

Iraq’s parliament is currently considering cementing the role of the PMF as a full-fledged arm of the state's security forces.

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