Iran poses an existential threat to Iraq’s sovereignty and the survival of Christians and other religious minorities in the region. Decades of war, unrest and widespread persecution have devastated Iraqi Christian communities, now comprising just 1% of Iraq’s total population. This crisis is perpetuated by the Iranian regime’s Axis of Resistance and its increasingly potent influence over the Iraqi government. Since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003, Tehran has pursued a deliberate, multifaceted campaign to infiltrate Iraq’s political landscape, often at the expense of Iraq’s religious minorities. Recent developments, specifically the Trump Administration’s June 2025 strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, have left the regime weakened and increasingly focused on Iraq as one of its last footholds in the region.
The Babylon Brigades, established and backed by Tehran under the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), as well as its political offshoot, the Babylon Movement, embody Iran’s exploitation of Iraq’s religious minorities to advance their malign agenda. Founded in 2014 by US-sanctioned human rights abuser Rayan al-Kildani, these groups are nominally Christian, yet depend on the support of Iraqi Shi’a and are not representative of Christian values or interests. Strategically centered in the Nineveh Plains, Iraq’s only Christian-majority region, al-Kildani has forcibly submerged the authentically-Christian Nineveh Plains Protection Unit (NPU) into his militia.
Kildani has further consolidated his authority by silencing the political voices of Iraqi Christians. Article 49 of Iraq’s Constitution allocates a certain number of seats to religious minorities in the Council of Representatives (COR), with five currently reserved for Christian candidates. However, Iraqi election law permits anyone, regardless of religious affiliation, to vote for these seats, allowing for unchecked manipulation of the system. Through this loophole, al-Kildani and his Babylon Movement have effectively hijacked nearly all Christian-designated seats at varying levels of government in federal Iraq.
With the next parliamentary elections scheduled for November of this year, urgent action must be taken to ensure equal and fair representation for minority communities. Al-Kildani is seemingly preparing to continue his exploitation of Iraqi Christians, reportedly having ordered NPU members to collect at least twenty-five voting cards from Nineveh Plains residents so they may be used to cast votes for Babylon Movement candidates. Kildani has expanded his influence with impunity. Despite ongoing abuses and blatant electoral fraud, al-Kildani has never been prosecuted by Iraqi courts. Media outlets even refrain from publishing negative press about Kildani, signaling the fear he has instilled in the population. The Iraqi government must hold al-Kildani and his supporters accountable to the fullest extent of the law and implement reforms to secure representation of Iraq’s religious minorities.
This Iranian-backed infiltration has extended beyond political exploitation. In July of 2023, Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashad revoked an order recognizing Cardinal Sako as patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church— Iraq’s largest Christian denomination. This reportedly came just one day after the president met with al-Kildani. Recognizing the rising influence of Kildani in the Chaldean church, Cardinal Sako fled to Erbil in the Kurdish region of Iraq. Months later, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shi’a al-Sudani invited Cardinal Sako back to Baghdad after a concerted diplomatic effort by the U.S. government.
More recently, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Prime Minister al-Sudani, discussing a bill currently pending in the COR that aims to institutionalize the PMF by establishing a more clearly defined structure for the organization. As emphasized by the Secretary of State, this legislation would only further integrate the PMF into Iraq’s security apparatus and deepen Iran’s influence, as well as directly contradict U.S. government efforts to facilitate the dismantling of the PMF. Refusing to eradicate the PMF would cement U.S. opposition to the Iraqi federal government’s embrace of Iranian influence, damaging Washington-Baghdad relations and further diminishing Iraq’s national sovereignty.
The United States has been presented with a historic opportunity to undermine Iran’s power and influence following the strategic defeat of the regime’s proxies and regional allies. Hezbollah, Iran’s most powerful proxy, was significantly weakened following the assassination of its leader and other top-ranking officials. Months later, the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria effectively ended the close partnership between Tehran and Damascus, as well as the ability for Iran to utilize Syria as a land bridge to the eastern Mediterranean. Moreover, Washington’s April 2025 airstrikes on Yemen’s Ras Isa port have cut off a crucial oil supply to the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in control of the country. The Trump Administration’s strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities last month signal a further decline of the regime’s scope and dominance. In the wake of these events, Iraq has become Tehran’s most viable avenue for maintaining its influence.
Effectively resisting Iran’s encroachment into Iraq is now critical to securing regional stability. The Trump Administration should continue to pursue diplomatic efforts with Iraqi government officials, specifically with those who have previously expressed support for religious minority groups and incentivize them to meet these commitments. Building strong ties and demonstrating the benefits of U.S. partnership will continue to push the population further from Iran. Additionally, President Trump should ensure U.S. troops remain in Iraq, especially in the Kurdistan region, to act as a counterweight against the PMF, and Washington must continue to put pressure on the Iraqi government to dismantle the PMF in its entirety. Members of Congress should support legislation aiming to strengthen an independent Iraq from Iran, specifically Representative Joe Wilson’s Free Iraq from Iran Act, which will give the Trump administration additional leverage to pursue the dismantling of the PMF. Finally, U.S. government officials should call out al-Kildani by name, reprimanding his abuses of Iraqi Christians and electoral processes.
If the United States fails to adequately intervene, al-Kildani and other Iranian-backed forces will continue their destructive, extremist objectives— posing a threat not only to Iraqi Christians but to the stability of the entire region. Defending international religious freedom is a cornerstone of U.S. morality and foreign policy. Simultaneously, countering Iran’s entrenchment into Iraq is essential for containing and derailing the regime as a whole. Washington must prioritize both of these obligations before Tehran’s grip tightens beyond reversal.
