Mike Baker

It's a signal.

And it's the second time this has happened since the war with Iran began back in late February.

Treasury officials say the hold is temporary, but they haven't spelled out what Baghdad needs to do to resume those deliveries other than halt the Iranian-linked militias from attacking American assets and personnel.

And that ambiguity is part of the strategy.

It keeps the pressure on without locking Washington into a fixed bullet point list of demands.

And to understand why this is happening, you have to look at what's been happening on the ground in Iraq.

Over the past several weeks, there's been a steady stream of militia attacks on American targets.

We're talking hundreds of small scale drone and rocket strikes hitting U.S.

military bases, a consulate in northern Iraq and a State Department facility at Baghdad International Airport.

U.S.

officials say these attacks are being carried out by militias in support of Tehran, and they've extended beyond Iraq now into neighboring countries.

There was an attempted drone ambush earlier this month targeting a convoy transporting a freed American hostage out of Iraq that was blamed on pro-Iran groups.

What we're seeing here is a clear pattern.

Iranian-backed militias are operating with a real freedom of movement, launching repeated attacks on U.S.

personnel and facilities, while leadership in Baghdad either can't or won't shut them down.

The reality is Iran has spent years and significant resources ensuring that their influence is cemented within the Iraqi government and political structure.

Some of the Iranian militias play an important and influential role within the Iraqi security apparatus.

From Washington's perspective, that is no longer acceptable, and that's why we're seeing this shift.

The Trump administration has informed Baghdad that it's suspending parts of its security cooperation, including counterterrorism funding and military training, until Iraqi leaders take concrete steps to dismantle the militias.

Now, Washington has used this playbook before.