The U.S. warns Iraq not to allow Iranian-backed armed groups into the cabinet, or it may impose oil-related sanctions

According to a report by Reuters, Joshua Harris, the U.S. Chargé d'Affaires in Iraq, has warned Iraqi officials and influential Shiite leaders multiple times over the past two months that if Iran-backed armed groups join the next government, the U.S. will impose sanctions on Iraq, including potentially freezing the country's critical oil revenues. The report also indicates that this information has been conveyed through intermediaries to some leaders of groups associated with Iran.

U.S. and Iraqi officials stated that Iran has long used the Iraqi banking system to evade sanctions, and in recent years, sanctions have been imposed on more than a dozen Iraqi banks. However, the U.S. has never restricted the remittance of Iraq's oil revenues, with the funds flowing to the Central Bank of Iraq via the New York Federal Reserve