Iraq voiced surprise Saturday after the US Treasury imposed "unacceptable" sanctions against Faleh Fayyadh, leader of the state-sponsored Hashed al-Shaabi, a powerful pro-Iranian paramilitary network.

Fayyadh is one of the most senior Iraqi state officials to be placed on the US sanctions blacklist.

Washington has been threatening for months to impose sanctions on Iraqis with close ties to Iran or accused of human rights violations, and the US Treasury said Fayyadh was responsible for brutal attacks on protesters in October 2019.

Fayyadh's former deputy, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, was killed in US drone strike a year ago alongside Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.

But Iraq's foreign ministry called the blacklisting "surprising and unacceptable," and said it would "work to rectify" similar US moves against Iraqis, whether by outgoing President Donald Trump or his successor, Joe Biden.

The sanctions, announced Friday, seek to freeze any assets a designated person has under US jurisdiction and bans American firms -- including banks and other companies with US branches -- from doing business with them.

It poses a thorny problem for Fayyadh, a international businessman who has also been sent by Baghdad as an envoy to the US, Iran and the Gulf.

Iraqi national security adviser Qassem al-Araji said sanctions targeting a senior government official were an "error".

But several pro-Iran groups, including Lebanon's Hezbollah movement congratulated Fayyadh for the "honorary badge" of sanctions, saying it signalled his services to the "resistance".

US puts top Iraqi official Fayyadh on blacklist
Washington (AFP) Jan 8, 2021 - The US Treasury slapped sanctions on the leader of Iraq's paramilitary Popular Mobilization Forces Friday, saying he was connected to "serious human rights abuse."

The Treasury said Faleh Fayyadh, head of the state-sponsored network of pro-Iran fighters, was responsible for brutal attacks on protesters in October 2019.

"By directing and supervising the murder of peaceful Iraqi demonstrators, Iran-aligned militants and politicians such as Faleh Fayyadh have been waging a violent campaign against Iraqi democracy and civil society," said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

The PMF -- Hashed al-Shaabi in Arabic -- has close ties to Tehran but is overseen by the Iraqi government, with Fayyadh its chairman and top commander.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement that Fayyadh was also the member of a "crisis cell" supported by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards, branded a terrorist organization by the United States.

"Iran-aligned (PMF) forces continue to wage a murderous campaign against political activists in Iraq who are calling for free and fair elections, respect for human rights, and transparent and accountable governance," Pompeo said in a statement.

Fayyadh is one of the most senior Iraqi officials to be placed on the US sanctions blacklist.

He recently took part in public commemorations organized by Iraq on the one-year anniversary of the US killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard commander Qasem Soleimani and Fayyadh's Iraqi lieutenant Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

The sanctions seek to freeze any assets a designated person has under US jurisdiction and bans American firms -- including banks and other companies with US branches -- from doing business with them.

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