Ali al-Zaidi, Iraq's prime minister and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, on Sunday, 4 October 2026, ordered the formation of a committee to investigate the trampling of the US flag during the “Sovereignty Day” parades in Baghdad. Iraqi officials also announced that those responsible had been arrested, but did not disclose their number or identities.
According to The National, during the parades, held to mark the withdrawal of the US-led international coalition from Iraq, vehicles belonging to Hashd al-Shaabi groups drove over US and Israeli flags. Participants also carried flags of the Islamic Republic and Hezbollah and pictures of Ali Khamenei.
Reaction from the Iraqi government and the United States
According to the Iraqi outlet 964, Sabah al-Numan, spokesman for the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi armed forces, said that respecting the symbols of friendly countries and their diplomatic missions in Iraq is a legal and diplomatic obligation, and that any violation in this regard will be prosecuted.
Images of the incident were first published on X by Joe Wilson, a Republican member of the US Congress. He accused Hashd al-Shaabi of disrespecting the US flag and glorifying the Islamic Republic regime, and called Iraq's sovereignty into question.
A test of al-Zaidi's promises
Hashd al-Shaabi is a collection of mostly Shia groups that has been formally integrated into Iraq's security structure since 2016, but several of its groups have close ties to the Islamic Republic. According to The National, the incident calls into question al-Zaidi's recent promises of full Iraqi sovereignty, the disarmament of non-state groups and a ban on cross-border attacks, especially as some of these groups have said they will not lay down their weapons.
The parades were held after the end of the 12-year mission of the international coalition against ISIS and the withdrawal of its last forces from Erbil.
The Hashd al-Shaabi parade, with pictures of Khamenei and trampled US flags, forced the Baghdad government into a swift response.
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