FIRST ON FOX: This week, the Israeli military spokesman confirmed to Digital that since the conflict with Iran began—aimed at eliminating the Islamic Republic of Iran’s illicit nuclear weapons facilities, missile systems, and terrorism infrastructure—multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been launched into Israel from Iraqi territory.
Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani stated that the army has achieved a “near complete success” rate in intercepting Iranian drones before they strike Israeli targets.
The drones launched from Iraq are believed to originate from the Iranian regime-controlled Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an umbrella group of Shiite militants that targeted Israel with drones in 2024 during Israel’s conflict with the Tehran-backed Hamas movement.
An Iraqi Kurdish official told Digital, “Iraq has turned into a vessel for the Iranians. Is it really that hard to see? I draw no line between the PMF and the state. They receive state salaries, hold sovereign positions in the current cabinet, travel abroad, and now have entered the federal legislature.”
The official continued: “Over the last two decades, Iran has systematically taken over the state, transforming what were meant to be institutions into tools to protect the Shia regime in Baghdad and punish any threats to it, including the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Through Baghdad and state institutions, it has economically suffocated the Kurdistan Region, eroded our autonomy, and left us vulnerable to more attacks.”
An attack was reported on the country’s dwindling Christian community. The Chaldean Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil, Iraq—based in the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan—wrote on X on Thursday: “It’s a miracle no one was hurt when two drones hit our community, 150 meters from our Catechist Center, which serves 1,000 Catholic children. Our university and schools are also closed so the youth can be with their parents. Please pray for us and all those suffering in this war.”
Kurdistan Regional Government authorities confirmed the attack and said it was carried out by two drones.
Phillip Smyth, an expert on Shiite militias in Iraq, told Digital of the strikes on the Chaldean Catholic school: “Kata’ib Hezbollah was the first to mention it, and it was probably Kata’ib Hezbollah, though it could have been another two pro-Iran militias since they collaborate on drone launches.”
A Reuters report, citing security sources and an oilfield engineer, stated that a drone attack hit an oil field run by U.S. company HKN Energy in Iraq’s Kurdistan region on Thursday, sparking a fire and halting production.
No group claimed responsibility, but Kurdish officials accused Iran-allied Iraqi militias of carrying out the attack.
If confirmed, the attack would indicate that Iran-aligned Iraqi militias—who have vowed to retaliate for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader—have expanded their targets from U.S. military bases in Iraqi Kurdistan to U.S. energy interests.
Production at the field was halted as a precaution after an explosion at its power unit, the engineer told Reuters.
Some energy companies operating in Iraqi Kurdistan suspended oil and gas production at their fields as a precaution following U.S. and Israeli strikes on neighboring Iran.
Entifadh Qanbar, a former spokesman for Iraq’s deputy prime minister, echoed the Iraqi Kurdish official’s remarks in his statement to Digital: “The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) are entirely funded by the Iraqi government. In fact, they are formally listed as a line item in Iraq’s federal budget. Officially, over $3 billion is allocated yearly for salaries alone, but when factoring in logistics, weapons, food, and other operational expenses, the PMF’s budget likely surpasses $10 billion—equivalent to the budget of a small Middle Eastern country,” he claimed.
Qanbar outlined a path to change Iraq’s behavior: “If the United States wants to end this, there are clear tools. Sanctions should be imposed on the Iraqi government for funding these militias. Another effective measure involves Iraq’s oil revenues, which are held at the U.S. Federal Reserve. The U.S. could freeze transfers of those funds unless Baghdad stops financing the PMF. Let’s be clear: every terrorist launching drones or rockets at Kurdistan, U.S. interests, Gulf states, or military bases is essentially paid by the Iraqi government,” he claimed.
When asked if Iran urged Shiite PMF militias to fire drones at Israel, a spokesman for Iran’s U.N. mission said, “The Mission declined to comment.”
On Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said his government is “not allowing any effort to draw Iraq into war or threaten the country’s stability,” according to Kurdistan24.
Salwan Sinjari, chief of staff to the Iraqi foreign minister, directed Digital to the Iraqi foreign ministry’s page for official statements from his minister and the government. He did not reply to follow-up messages and calls regarding whether Iraq’s government is failing to rein in the PMF.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein claimed the government was seeking to convince Iran-backed militias to disarm in January 2025, according to .
However, Iraq’s government has sent mixed messages about the PMF over the years. In May 2025, al-Sudani was quoted as stating, “Today, the Popular Mobilization Forces are a fundamental force in defending Iraq.”
Iraq’s ambassador to the U.S. did not immediately respond to email, WhatsApp, and phone inquiries. A second Iraqi diplomat said he could not provide Digital with a comment.
The Times of Israel reported on Thursday that after military strikes killed a senior Kataeb Hezbollah officer—Iraq’s largest pro-Iran militia—south of Baghdad, PMF militias vowed to target the Middle Eastern interests of European nations that participated in the “Zionist-American” strikes against the Islamic Republic and its proxies.
Digital contacted the U.S. State Department.