RH DOSSIER / Armed partner / force

Kata’ib Hezbollah

Purpose
An Iraqi Shia armed group, separate from Lebanese Hezbollah. It opposes U.S. and Western influence and has attacked U.S., Israeli, Iraqi and coalition targets. [27]
Size and reach
Up to 10,000 fighters in the State Department’s report covering 2024, published May 2026. Its documented operating area includes Iraq and Syria; today’s strength is unverified. [27]
Why this alignment
It shares ideological ties with Iran and relies heavily on Iranian support, alongside business and criminal revenue. That gives Tehran an armed partner with an Iraqi base and external networks. [27][3]
State nexus: Iran
STATE NEXUSIran
REPORTED AREAIraq; alleged external networks
LATEST CITED RECORD2026-07-22
RH SOURCE REVIEW13 October 2026

01 / STATE RELATIONSHIP

IRGC / Quds Force

State Department reporting describes Iranian support to Kata’ib Hezbollah. The 2026 Al-Saadi case alleges overlapping roles in the group and the IRGC.

U.S. Department of State (archived) · 2023 ↗U.S. Department of Justice · 2026-07-22 ↗

ADDITIONAL CONNECTION / Attributed tasking / front

HAYI / IMCR

DOJ alleges HAYI was a front used by Kata’ib Hezbollah and other organizations in the European attack campaign.

Criminal allegation, not a judicial finding. The map does not infer a Hezbollah (Lebanon) to HAYI command edge.

U.S. Department of Justice · 2026-07-22 ↗
Open connected dossier ↗

02 / CONTEXT IN THE RECORD

What to know

DOJ describes HAYI as a front used for attacks attributed to Kata’ib Hezbollah and other organizations. The map distinguishes that allegation from the broader Iranian support relationship.

U.S. Department of Justice · 2026-07-22 ↗

Where the evidence stops

An Iraqi militia's ties do not make all Iraqi state security forces Iranian proxies. The HAYI front relationship is an allegation, shown separately.

The cited dates establish the scope of this record. They do not confirm current operational capacity, complete membership or a present-day legal designation.

PUBLIC RECORD

Sources

  1. Country Reports on Terrorism 2023 ↗

    U.S. Department of State (archived) · 2023 · Reporting period, not current status

  2. Al-Saadi indictment and alleged HAYI front ↗

    U.S. Department of Justice · 2026-07-22 · Page updated

  3. Kata'ib Hizballah: Country Reports on Terrorism 2024 ↗

    U.S. State Department, reproduced by ecoi.net · 2026-05-01 · Covers 2024; the strength figure is not a 2026 count