Members of Kataib Hezbollah march during a public event in Iraq, carrying banners bearing the group’s insignia and portraits of fallen commanders.
Kataib Hezbollah figure warns Iraqi politicians over contacts with Trump envoy
BAGHDAD — Abu Ali al-Askari, military deputy commander of Kataib Hezbollah, said Saturday the group would “not confront” U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy to Iraq, Mark Savaya, while warning Iraqi politicians and public figures against communicating with him.
In a statement, al-Askari said, “Kataib Hezbollah will not confront you,” addressing Savaya, and added that others would do so. “Young men from these proud people are sufficient, and they are capable of returning you humiliated to where degradation, alcohol trade, and drugs are,” he said.
Al-Askari attacked Savaya personally, saying, “The obscure young man Mark Savaya, with the difference in deviant behaviors, was appointed by Trump as his envoy to Iraq in pursuit of narrow gains during a highly complex regional moment.”
He continued, “Understand, you reckless one and your foolish master, that Iraq is greater than you. It is a country on whose thresholds the mightiest empires collapsed throughout history, and upon whose soil your occupying army fell, until your senior commanders such as Casey, Petraeus, and Odierno became a joke to history,” referring to former U.S. military officials George W. Casey Jr., David H. Petraeus and Raymond T. Odierno.
Al-Askari said Iraqi forces defeated the Islamic State group without U.S. aims being realized. “By the hands of its men, your criminal creation Daesh was crushed, and your illusions collapsed one after another. You will not reach your malicious aims in the Iraq of holy sites; this is a true promise, and a promise that is not false,” he said.
He warned Iraqi political and religious figures against engaging with the U.S. envoy. “It is more appropriate for Iraqi politicians and figures, especially those who wear the turban of the Messenger of God, to avoid communicating with this traitor to Iraq,” he said, adding, “Otherwise, the people will treat you as traitors and tools in the hands of the criminal Trump.”
Savaya was appointed U.S. special envoy to Iraq on Oct. 19 by former President Donald Trump, who described him as a Michigan-based entrepreneur with close ties to Iraqi and regional communities. Announcing the appointment on Truth Social, Trump said, “Mark’s deep understanding of the Iraq-U.S. relationship, and his connections in the region, will help advance the interests of the American people.” Savaya, a Chaldean Christian of Iraqi descent and owner of the U.S.-based Leaf and Bud cannabis company, responded on Instagram, “I am deeply humbled, honored, and grateful to President Donald J. Trump for appointing me as Special Envoy to the Republic of Iraq. I am committed to strengthening the U.S.–Iraq partnership under President Trump’s leadership and guidance.”
Following his appointment, Savaya issued public warnings about armed groups operating outside state control. In a statement posted on X on Nov. 1, he said Iraq’s sovereignty and progress “will remain at risk” unless all security forces operate under government command, adding that “there is no place for armed groups operating outside the authority of the state.” He said Iraq’s stability depends on “having unified security forces under the command of a single government and the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, united under one flag that represents all Iraqis,” and warned that Iraq must be “free from malign external interference, including from Iran and its proxies.”