Nujaba Militia Vows Weapons Will Never Be Surrendered, Warns of Imminent Attacks

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – A senior member of the U.S.-designated terrorist group Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba (HaN) has unequivocally declared that the weapons of the "resistance front" in Iraq will never be surrendered, even after the withdrawal of American forces, while simultaneously warning that an attack on these factions may be imminent.

In a television interview, the militia official asserted that the group and its allies are fully aware of American "spies" in the country and are braced for a potential escalation, signaling a posture of deep-seated hostility and readiness for conflict.

The stark pronouncements were made by Mahdi Kaabi, a member of Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba (HaN), during an appearance on the program Al-Muqāraba with Samer Jawad on Iraq's Dijlah TV.

His comments provide a raw and unfiltered look into the strategic thinking of one of the most aggressive Iran-backed militias in Iraq, revealing a non-negotiable commitment to retaining its arms and a profound suspicion of any diplomatic or security arrangements involving the United States.

"The weapons of the resistance front, neither in Lebanon nor in Iraq, will be surrendered; even with the withdrawal of the Americans, they will remain and will not be surrendered," Kaabi stated emphatically. He further framed the post-coalition era not as a period of peace, but as one of heightened risk, stressing that "the dangers after the withdrawal of the International Coalition are evident."

An Imminent Threat

During the interview, Kaabi issued a grave warning, suggesting that Iraq could soon become a direct target amid rising regional tensions. He specifically linked this threat to recent developments in Lebanon, where a U.S.-backed memorandum concerning Hezbollah's disarmament was signed—a move the Lebanese group has fiercely rejected.

Kaabi argued that this regional pressure would inevitably extend to Iraq.

“The information available indicates that the targeting of the Islamic resistance also means targeting certain security apparatuses, whether the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) or others," he said. When pressed by the host on whether this could escalate into a military confrontation inside Iraq, Kaabi was explicit.

“There is information suggesting that there is targeting directed at Iraq, meaning at any moment Iraq could be targeted," he declared. "As for the precise place and time, that depends on the circumstances and indicators.”

Nujaba Militia Vows Weapons Will Never Be Surrendered, Warns of Imminent Attacks

A senior member of the U.S.-designated terror group Nujaba declared on TV that the militia's weapons will never be surrendered, even after a U.S. withdrawal, and warned that an attack on the… pic.twitter.com/cyqiN4iYaQ

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This sense of impending conflict was coupled with a defiant and confident posture towards the group's primary adversary.

The Nujaba member asserted that "America is afraid of the Hashd al-Sha'bi (PMF) and the armed groups." In a more ominous note, he added, "we know the American spies in Iraq and we know what will happen in the end."

Unyielding Alliance with Tehran

Kaabi left no doubt about his organization's ultimate allegiance, emphasizing an unbreakable bond with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

He described recent diplomatic overtures, such as memorandums signed by Iranian official Ali Larijani, as to have little impact is it is not implemented without what he called "genuine political will."

He accused some Iraqi political figures of duplicity, stating that without "a true and sincere political resistance with the Iraqi people—not this kind of deception, lying, and fooling people, saying ‘I am against the Americans’ in the media while in reality they are with the Americans—things go far afield.”

Reaffirming his group’s ideological and strategic alignment, Kaabi declared, “We are allies of the Islamic Republic; our position is firm in supporting the Islamic Republic.”

While he noted that any decision to participate in future regional conflicts would be made "at the proper time," his statement solidified Nujaba's position as a core component of Tehran's "axis of resistance."

Nujaba's Role as an Aggressive Proxy

Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, founded in 2013 by Akram al-Kaabi, is an Iraqi Shia militia and a formal part of the state-sanctioned Popular Mobilization Commission. However, its actions and ideology have placed it firmly outside the bounds of a conventional state security force.

The United States designated both the Nujaba Movement and its founder as terrorists in 2019, a reflection of its direct and persistent hostility toward U.S. interests.

According to a detailed policy analysis by Michael Knights, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Nujaba is "perhaps the most aggressive anti-American Iran-backed militia in Iraq." In his analysis, published in January 2024, Knights notes that Akram Kaabi has deliberately positioned himself as the "face" of the armed "resistance" to the U.S. presence, a role amplified by public endorsements from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) and even high-level Russian officials.

Unlike other prominent Iran-backed militias such as Kataib Hezbollah (KH) or Asaib Ahl al-Haq (AAH), which have parallel political wings, Nujaba operates almost exclusively as a military force. This lack of a political party means, as Knights puts it, that HaN "talks and acts as if it has little to lose by angering the United States and Israel." This has led Nujaba to openly taunt other groups, like AAH, as "cowards" for their relative caution in attacking American forces.

The Proximate Cause of U.S. Strikes

Nujaba's aggressive posture has made it the primary target of U.S. retaliatory strikes.

The Washington Institute's Militia Spotlight platform assesses that HaN was responsible for the vast majority of attacks on U.S. bases in Syria and Iraqi Kurdistan in late 2023. Knights' analysis shows that from October 17, 2023, when the latest wave of attacks began, HaN carried out at least 95 out of 136 total attacks against U.S. forces, a staggering 69 percent.

This recklessness has had deadly consequences and triggered direct American responses.

In March 2023, an advanced HaN drone attack killed one American in Syria. The group's actions were also the "proximate trigger for six of the seven rounds of U.S. strikes" conducted in response to militia attacks after October 2023.

These strikes were often prompted by either indiscriminate rocket salvos that narrowly missed causing mass casualties or precise attacks that deliberately injured U.S. personnel, such as a December 25 drone strike in Erbil that seriously wounded a service member.

This pattern culminated in a significant U.S. operation on January 4, 2024, when an American strike in Baghdad killed Mushtaq Taleb al-Saeedi (also known as Abu Taqwa), a senior Nujaba commander.

Saeedi was a key figure, serving as a deputy in the PMF's Baghdad Belt Operations and playing a role in distributing advanced Iranian-supplied weapons. Knights argues that by killing such an important figure, the U.S. sent a strong signal that it was willing to escalate its response, specifically targeting the group most responsible for the violence.

Mahdi Kaabi’s recent statements on Dijlah TV suggest that this signal may not have been received as a deterrent, but rather as a confirmation of an inevitable and escalating conflict.