Iranâs Proxies in Iraq Threaten U.S. With More Sophisticated Weapons Iran-backed militias in Iraq are suspected of carrying out recent drone strikes on sensitive American targets in Iraq, evading U.S. defenses. The Ayn al-Asad air base in Iraq was attacked by Iranian missiles in January last year. Iran-backed militia groups in Iraq used armed drones to attack the base again last month.Credit...Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times June 4, 2021Updated 12:28 p.m. ET BAGHDAD â The United States is grappling with a rapidly evolving threat from Iranian proxies in Iraq after militia forces specialized in operating more sophisticated weaponry, including armed drones, have hit some of the most sensitive American targets in attacks that evaded U.S. defenses.