Baghdad, Iraq – On Sunday evening, January 25, 2026, Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq issued a strongly worded statement calling on all armed factions loyal to what is known as the “axis of resistance” to be fully prepared to wage a “comprehensive war,” stressing that the region is heading towards a “decisive” conflict in defense of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Field mobilization and a call for suicide operations
In its statement, the brigades called upon those they termed “mujahideen brothers” across the globe to prepare for a major confrontation, emphasizing the need for field readiness pending a “declaration of jihad” from religious authorities. The statement also included an explicit reference to escalating military operations to include “jihadist acts amounting to martyrdom operations” should a direct confrontation erupt.
A warning of “certain death” to the “Zionists of the land”
The brigades described the recent international moves against Tehran as an attempt by “the Zionists of the land and their henchmen” to subjugate Iran and destroy its principles. The statement read: “We assure the enemies that war against the Republic will not be a picnic; rather, you will taste the bitterest forms of death, and nothing will remain of you in our region.”
Transcending sects and ethnicities
The brigades justified their call for total war by stating that Iran has stood for more than four decades alongside the “oppressed” without sectarian or ethnic discrimination, considering that the support of the axis forces for Tehran at this stage represents an absolute necessity to confront what it described as “the forces of misguidance.”
tense security context
This statement comes at a time when the region is witnessing unprecedented military movements, coinciding with the entry of major US naval vessels into the Central Command area of operations, raising fears that armed factions in Iraq may slide into a direct confrontation that could lead to an expansion of the regional conflict.
