(MENAFN- Jordan Times) The bill was referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, sparking condemnation in Baghdad from Iraqi lawmakers and Abadi himself, who said he would not allow anyone who fought Daesh to be treated as criminals.
"Accusing us of terrorism is not new or surprising. It is not a coincidence, and does not shock us, because we have never been part of the American bloc or project," said Mouasawi.
Iraq is backed by adversaries the United States and Iran in its fight against Daesh.
The United States is concerned that Iran, a Shiite Muslim regional power, will take advantage of gains against Daesh in Iraq and Syria to expand the influence it amassed after the US invasion in 2003, something Arab rivals such as Saudi Arabia also oppose.
Tens of thousands of Iraqis heeded a call to arms in 2014 after Daesh seized a third of the country's territory, forming the PMF, which receive funding and training from Tehran and have been declared part of the Iraqi security apparatus.
They are paid by the Iraqi government and officially report to the prime minister, but some Arab Sunni and Kurdish politicians describe these militias as a de facto branch of the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC).
Mouasawi openly said on Thursday his group receives support in the form of "advice" from the guards and the commander of its foreign operations, Major-General Qassem Soleimani, and Lebanese Shiite political and military group Hizbollah.
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