BAGHDAD: A bill in Iraq that would further formalize the role — and perhaps, the autonomy — of a powerful coalition of pro-Iran former paramilitaries has sparked a heated debate, fanned in part by US pressure.
Few details of the bill that could decide the future of the Hashed Al-Shaabi alliance have been made public.
Formed in 2014 when Iraqis were urged to take up arms against the jihadists of the Daesh group, the Hashed is a powerful force with major military and political clout.
The bill aims at regulating and restructuring the alliance of a myriad of armed groups, which together have more than 200,000 fighters and employees.
Not mincing words, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the proposed legislation “would institutionalize Iranian influence and armed terrorist groups undermining Iraq’s sovereignty.”
