The United States on Friday blacklisted three Iran-backed Iraqi paramilitary leaders over their alleged role in killings of anti-government protesters in Iraq and threatened future sanctions if violence against demonstrators continued.
The sanctions announced on Friday are the latest U.S. targeting of Iraqi individuals or armed groups with close links to Tehran as Washington ramps up economic pressure to try to counter Iranian influence in the Middle East.
Washington would be ready to impose further sanctions on others over the killings of protesters if the violence did not stop, David Schenker, Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs, told reporters in a briefing.
"We are not done. This is an ongoing process," he said.
The sanctions target Qais al-Khazali, leader of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq Iran-backed militia and his brother Laith al-Khazali, another leader of the group, according to a statement from the U.S. Treasury Department.
They also target Hussein Falih al-Lami, security chief for the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), Iraq's state umbrella group of paramilitary factions, which is dominated by groups backed by Iran, including Asaib.