BAGHDAD — Iran has granted its commanders greater autonomy over militias in Iraq, allowing some Iran-backed groups to carry out operations without prior approval from Tehran. The most hard-line factions now operate under Iranian advisers using a decentralized command structure.

The shift followed the 12-day war in June 2025, during which militia operations had been tightly centralized. In its aftermath, greater autonomy was granted to militias in the field. "The various forces have been granted the authority to operate according to their own field assessments without referring back to a central command," one militia official said.

Days into the war touched off by U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, 2026, an Iranian delegation arrived in Iraq's Kurdish region and told Iraqi Kurdish authorities they should not complain to Tehran about militia attacks near U.S. military bases, commercial interests, and diplomatic missions.

"They said they've devolved authority to regional Iranian commanders," a senior Iraqi Kurdish government official said. "This time, they wanted to preempt that by saying, 'We can't help you with the groups in the south right now.'"

Iran-backed militias in Iraq escalated attacks on U.S. assets before a ceasefire deal was reached in April 2026. U.S. strikes in Iraq largely killed mid-level militia commanders and focused on Iranian Revolutionary Guard advisory cells. In one strike in Baghdad's Jadriya neighborhood, three Iranian Revolutionary Guard advisers were killed at a house used as their headquarters during a meeting.

"Since we are allies of the Islamic Republic, we have coordination with our brothers in the Islamic Republic," said Mahdi al-Kaabi, spokesperson for Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, which is part of Iran's regional axis alongside Hezbollah in Lebanon and Ansar Allah in Yemen. "To put it bluntly, we are allies of the Islamic Republic," al-Kaabi said.

On Friday, the United States imposed sanctions on seven commanders and senior members of four hard-line Iran-backed Iraqi militia groups. Iraq's ambassador to the U.S. was summoned to Washington to hear U.S. condemnation of attacks by Iran-backed factions on American personnel and diplomatic missions. "The Deputy Secretary affirmed that the United States will not tolerate any attacks targeting its interests and expects the Iraqi Government to take all necessary measures immediately to dismantle Iran-aligned militia groups," said Tommy Bigot, State Department deputy spokesperson.

Militia forces carrying out attacks on U.S. targets in Iraq are part of the Popular Mobilization Forces, created after the fall of Mosul in 2014 to formalize volunteer units critical in defeating the Islamic State. The force evolved to surpass the Iraqi army, with fighters receiving state salaries and access to weapons and intelligence. Many Iran-backed militias are funded through the Iraqi state budget and embedded within the security apparatus. Al-Sudani has further institutionalized the Popular Mobilization Forces and occasionally removed commanders who act outside state authority. Those efforts have met resistance from militia groups.

"The U.S. is still going to feel it has the freedom of action to hit Iraqi militias. That may well play out into an effort to try and guide a less militia-dominated government formation," said Michael Knights, head of research for Horizon Engage and adjunct fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.