Iraq President Barham Salih, left, with Prime Minister-designate Adnan Al Zurufi at the commissioning ceremony on March 17, 2020. (Iraqi Presidency via Twitter)

Baghdad - Fadhel al-Nashmi

Eight Iran-aligned factions in Iraq vowed to confront and respond to what they labeled as “American aggression” in the country. The factions also accused newly appointed Prime Minister Adnan al-Zurfi of colluding with Washington.

They issued a joint statement days after Iran’s new Quds Force Commander Esmail Ghaani visited Baghdad, revealing that he failed in uniting the ranks of Shiite forces in Iraq as they continue to bicker over the formation of a new government and Zurfi’s designation.

According to the statement, the factions – including Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Liwaa Imam Ali and Harakat Al-Nujaba Movement – vowed to attack the US forces in Iraq, while also condemning Zurfi.

“After refusing to heed the decision of the Iraqi people and parliament to withdraw your (US) forces and continuing the aggression against Iraqi sovereignty, it is evident that you (US) are an occupying power that responds only to force,” the statement said.

It added that "the recent American threats to target the resistance factions and leaders were only an attempt to cover up defeats.”

The factions called on lawmakers to withhold confidence from Zurfi, forcing him to step down in order to thwart the alleged “conspiracy.”

“We declare our steadfast and principled stance rejecting the appointment of the US intelligence candidate (called) Adnan al-Zurfi, and we warn the Iraqi president that by his nomination of this person, he violated the will of public demonstrators and the directions of the religious authority in order to present a controversial candidate accused of corruption,” the statement said.

Iraqi factions like Asaib Ahl Al-Haq and Kataib Hezbollah have targeted the US forces in Iraq, prompting the latter to carry out retaliatory strikes against them.

On Monday, the US deployed their Patriot air defense system to Iraq after reports indicated that a “major escalation” was going to happen inside the country.