Iraq (MNN) — Iraq feels the heat from the West as Iran gives field commanders free rein.

Iran recently allowed militia groups to carry out operations, including those targeting the U.S., without first getting permission from Tehran. The U.S. is pressuring Iraq to keep Iran’s proxies in check.

“At least [the] Iraqi central government is a little bit stronger in order to fight some of these things,” Samuel* of Redemptive Stories says.

“But I hear [from sources] on the ground, it’s getting closer and closer to another internal armed conflict within Iraq.”

Proxy war

Late last month, Arab neighbors sent Iraq’s government a similar warning: Get control over Iran’s proxies.

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“There are PMF factions within Iraq sending small arms forces into the Gulf states, and even into Jordan, on behalf of Iran,” Samuel says.

“That benefits them (Iran) in pressuring the Gulf states, and in particular Jordan, while somehow maintaining ‘plausible deniability’ under international law, similar to the model being used in Lebanon and Yemen.”

Analysts say Iran builds a shield around itself by attacking the U.S. and its allies through proxies. At the same time, it leaves countries like Iraq footing the cost.

“The Iraqi government continues to want Arab normalization with the rest of the nations around it, but it struggles because of the internal factions like the PMF that answer to Tehran, instead of being connected with Baghdad,” Samuel says.

How to help

Iraq’s religious minorities are not immune to the fallout of war. “The civilian and humanitarian costs of this instability are real, but they’re also largely invisible right now, given all that’s going on around it,” Samuel says.

“We’re hearing from brothers and sisters in Erbil that some of their church buildings have been damaged. You hear of Kurds feeling caught between everybody…they just feel like pawns in the middle of everyone’s chess game.”

Pray for Iraqi Christians as they serve the Lord amid escalating tensions.

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“As the conflict deepens, we’re seeing believers open their homes, their churches, their networks, to displaced families. Regardless of religion or ethnicity, it is the Church that will continue to stand in this gap to care for [its] neighbor,” Samuel says.

“It’s this time when followers of Jesus move towards the suffering rather than away from it.”

Pray also for the Lord’s will to be done in Iraq.

“We need to continue to pray for peace, that there would be a strong enough government to squelch the PMF and other forces that are attacking the neighboring nations, and that there would be a push out of Iranian influence,” Samuel says.

*Pseudonym

Header and story images are AI-generated by ChatGPT.