The US Undersecretary of State: Al-Hashd threats Iraq stability

Shafaq News / The US Undersecretary of State, David Hale accused the Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi as a pro-Iranian faction of being an obstacle to the stability of Iraq.

During a Senate hearing, Hill praised the reforms taken by Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, saying that "he had begun to restore the sovereignty of Iraq, by fighting corruption and control the illegal weapons."

The US official added that "the Iraqi people have ambitions for democratic rule, but the militias carry out assassinations, sectarian violence and theft of state resources."

On the US military presence in Iraq, Hale stressed that "it is to counter Iran's influence and eliminate the terrorist ISIS."

He added that "Iraq is able to reduce its dependence on Iranian energy within 60 days," indicating that "Washington exempts Iraq from sanctions on Iran for a period of 60 days to pay electricity dues."

He said that the "militias supported by Iran in many countries of the Middle East spread corruption and terrorism not only in the countries in which they are located, but in the whole region."

Hale said that "Lebanon 'Hezbollah sponsors corruption and sacrifices the people's interests for collecting weapons and carrying out its activities regionally, and Iran financed it with $ 700 million, and its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, publicly called for donations to help bridge the deficit."

The US Undersecretary of State declared that "we continue to urge our international and regional partners to ban Hezbollah, and consider it a terrorist organization."

He continued, that the "US administration's support for the Lebanese army is part of their strategy to confront Hezbollah terror."

As for Yemen, he indicated that "the Houthi militia continues to threaten regional security and stability by targeting civilian installations in Saudi Arabia."

David Hale stressed that the Gulf States are important partners for USA in the war on terror and limiting the Iranian influence.