On paper, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) are Iraqi state-controlled paramilitary forces. However, they have once again gained attention as they have conducted hundreds of drone and missile attacks in Iraq, Kurdistan, and neighboring Gulf states, all of which were directed by their masters in Tehran. The targets of these attacks were US and allied forces.

As Islamic State terrorists advanced across Iraq in 2014, four divisions of the Iraqi Army and a significant portion of its Federal Police force collapsed. An assault directly threatened both Baghdad and Erbil. Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Sistani, the most senior Shia cleric, immediately issued a call to arms to safeguard the Shia homeland and sacred shrines in Iraq. The concept of al-Hashd al-Shaabi, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) that was dominated by Shia, was conceived at this very moment.

The most frequently asserted assertion is that the PMF was established in response to a religious fatwa issued by the Grand Ayatollah. This is an inaccurate interpretation of Sistani’s genuine statement. Sistani issued a call for collective defense, encouraging Iraqis to volunteer to defend their country. He did not advocate for the establishment of independent armed groups or militias outside of the Iraqi state. In response to the fatwa, volunteers had the option of joining the Iraqi army, police, or other official security institutions. The fatwa did not authorize the establishment of distinct militia structures, such as the........

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