The Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) are witnessing differences between a current loyal to Iran and another loyal to Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and close to Iraq's supreme religious authority, Ali al-Sistani. The dispute has recently escalated following the ongoing conflict over the formation of the next government.

Eleven pro-Iran PMU factions, including Asaib Ahl al-Haq, the Hezbollah Brigades, the Badr Organization and Saraya al-Kharasani, issued a statement Sept. 5 condemning Abadi's move to form the largest bloc with the Sairoon Alliance led by Muqtada al-Sadr and a number of other political parties. This comes after Abadi took the decision to dismiss PMU head Faleh al-Fayad due to his support for the PMU Fatah Alliance as this backing was deemed an illegal political intervention on the part of a security official.

The statement said the signatory factions affirmed their “rejection of a government formed by al-Sabhan and McGurk.” Thamer al-Sabhan is the Saudi state minister for Arab Gulf affairs and Brett McGurk is the US special presidential envoy to the international coalition fighting the Islamic State. The factions said they would not allow this “despicable conspiracy to pass” and added that they “fiercely condemn the illegitimate presence of any foreign forces in Iraq. These shall be dealt with as occupying forces.”

For its part, Al-Hayat newspaper published a report Sept. 5 showing rebellion on the part of a number of PMU factions against Abadi in the wake of his dismissal of Fayad and following news that pro-Iran PMU deputy head Abu Mahdi al-Mohandas’ powers had been frozen. The United States considers Mohandas a terrorist.