Iran’s pressure on Christian communities in Iraq is escalating, now threatening their very existence. The principal military component of Iran’s grip on Iraq, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), has supposedly come under greater scrutiny from the Iraqi government. Yet, Iran’s assaults on Iraq’s Christian communities are only increasing. Any scrutiny by the Iraqi government, such as the likely insincere discussions about the disarmament and dissolution of the PMF, is undermined by Iran’s recent provision of long-range missiles to these militias. In the broader context of the ongoing negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, promises to disband the PMF would be an obvious ploy for Iran to defer scrutiny while reconstituting its proxies amid recent losses inflicted by the U.S. and its regional partners. Even if Iran appears to accommodate the U.S. for these purposes, its recent activities in Iraq demonstrate a continuous resolve to hijack vulnerable states, as in Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen.
Christians in Iraq are oppressed through the weaponization of what should be legal protections for Christians. The architect of this effort is Rayan al-Kildani, a despotic warlord sanctioned by the U.S. for human rights abuses. Al-Kildani previously led the Babylon Brigades, a nominally Christian militia controlled by Iran, but has since switched to politics as leader of the Babylon Movement party. The militia and its associated party are Christian in name only, deriving their support from Iraq’s Shia community. Through coercion and the abuse of loopholes in Iraqi election law that allow non-Christians to elect representatives for seats specially designated for Christians, the Babylon Movement has seized many positions at various levels of the Iraqi federal government.
Another effort to subvert Iraq’s Christians at the behest of Iran was the revocation of a legal degree recognizing the Chaldean Patriarch as the proprietor of the Chaldean Endowment that holds land and other property rights throughout Iraq. This would have enabled al-Kildani and, by extension, Iran to seize control of these Christian properties. International pressure, culminating in personal exchanges between the Presidents of the U.S. and Iraq, led to the restoration of the Chaldean Patriarch as proprietor. This recent case demonstrates the positive impact of high-level U.S. diplomacy in undercutting Iran’s efforts to displace Iraqi Christians.
The latest efforts by al-Kildani could now precipitate the mass exodus of Iraq’s remaining Christians. Already greatly diminished from the 1.5 million Christian Iraqis present in 2003, the approximately 150,000 Christians remain largely internally displaced six years after the nominal end of the ISIS Genocide. Christians still face incredible pressure to emigrate due to the lack of security, lack of respect for their property rights, and a sustained effort to undermine their political autonomy as outlined in the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) 2025 Annual Report.
Under these conditions, there have been a few success stories in the Nineveh Plains such as the city of Qaraqosh in the District of Hamdaniya, where roughly 60% of Christians have returned following the ISIS Genocide. The Christian Mayor of Qaraqosh Issam Benham Matti has led his vulnerable community through this challenging time while still achieving the extraordinary by rebuilding and renewing the economic base of the city. Last month, al-Kildani succeeded in replacing Mayor Matti with his Iranian puppet, bringing an abrupt end to the revival of this ancient Christian community.
With this ouster following al-Kildani’s takeover of the Nineveh Council by removing 15 Christian mayors and directors and substituting them with loyalists, Christians have been completely deprived of political representation across the Nineveh Plains and throughout Iraq, besides the Kurdistan Region. International Religious Freedom Secretariat President Nadine Maenza was in the region as this occurred, observing:
“It’s heartbreaking to witness the removal of the last independent Christian mayor from the Nineveh Plains—especially after the United States invested so much to help these communities to return and rebuild. But there is still a window. The U.S. can press Prime Minister Sudani to stop Rayan Kildani’s takeover of the Nineveh Plains Provincial Council and demand the withdrawal of Iran-backed militias.”
Such diplomatic pressure would undermine Iran’s domination over Iraqi sovereignty and provide Iraq’s Christians with the assurances to feel more secure in their homeland, possibly stemming the looming mass exodus.
The second Trump administration has affirmed international religious freedom as a foreign policy priority. Vice President Vance has even declared the administration’s commitment to ensure that Christians remain in Syria and Iraq and not repeat the mistakes that followed the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Failure to respond to this ongoing crisis will represent a failure, not only for international religious freedom but also for U.S. national security interests by strengthening Iran’s control over Iraq and giving the PMF free rein to expand their repression of Iraq’s religious minorities.
Although many of Iraq’s Christian communities face these grim prospects, there has also been a remarkable empowerment of Christians in the Kurdistan Region, culminating in the recent Kurdistan National Prayer Breakfast. Inviting international religious freedom advocates and religious leaders from around the world, this event demonstrated the religious freedom and pluralism in Kurdistan compared to the rest of Iraq. The International Religious Freedom Roundtable Middle East Working Group Co-Chair Lauren Homer attended the event and reported:
“a strong and apparently sincere commitment to religious freedom and equal rights for all religious groups, and a special concern for Christian and Yazidi citizens expressed through rebuilding of churches and shrines and other projects to erase the devastation inflicted by ISIS and by continuing to provide shelter and assistance to displaced members of those religious communities”.
The U.S. and our partners must uphold their commitments to all of Iraq’s Christian and other religious minority communities before a mass exodus occurs. Besides human rights concerns, there are substantial national security implications for an Iraq completely dominated by Iran. With Iran now strategically weakened as a result of the bruising conflict since October 7th, 2023, now is the time to redouble our efforts at expelling Iranian influence from Iraq. Diplomacy has proven to be successful in this regard, the Trump administration must not ignore this priority even as it engages in negotiations with Iran.