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U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has called on the Iranian-backed militia and their advisers who were instrumental in Iraq's defeat of ISIS and Daesh to return home after a joint meeting with the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

Both the United States and Saudi Arabia are concerned that Iran will continue to take advantage of the war against IS in Iraq and Syria to gain a consistently growing influence in the region; an influence that only became meaningful after the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003.

"Iranian militias that are in Iraq, now that the fight against Daesh and ISIS is coming to a close, those militias need to go home. The foreign fighters in Iraq need to go home and allow the Iraqi people to regain control," Tillerson said at a joint news conference with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Jubeir.

A senior U.S. official said Tillerson had been referring to the PMF and the Quds Force, the foreign paramilitary and espionage arm of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Meanwhile, Tillerson has reassured all concerned that the council would contribute to reforms to build Iraq's private sector and encourage foreign investment.

"This will be critical to winning the peace that has been earned through the hard-fought military gains," he said.