2026-07-14T08:53:59+00:00
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Shafaq News-
Washington
Iraq is working
toward a bilateral military partnership with the United States following the
conclusion of the Global Coalition’s mission in September, the spokesman for
the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, Sabah al-Numan, told Shafaq
News on Tuesday.
In an interview
ahead of Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s meeting with US Defense Secretary Pete
Hegseth at the Pentagon, al-Numan told Shafaq News that the anticipated talks
will focus on the future of the Iraq-US military relationship post-Coalition,
with Baghdad seeking a solid bilateral partnership covering training, armament,
intelligence, and capacity-building for the Iraqi Armed Forces. A parallel
meeting between Iraqi and American defense ministry delegations is also
underway, he said.
Read more: Trump ties Iraq partnership to “militia disarmament”
On the Iraqi
government’s effort to bring all armed factions under state authority and
Washington’s role in this regard, al-Numan stressed that “this is a purely
Iraqi decision, based on the mandate of the Iraqi people, the will of
parliament, and the directives of the religious authority [Ayatollah Ali
al-Sistani].”
“The
mechanisms for implementation were set by the Prime Minister. No external party
participates in drafting or managing them.”
Read more: Iraq’s September 30 weapons deadline leaves terms of disarmament unresolved
Al-Numan added
that the central committee, headed by the Deputy Commander of Joint Operations,
with the Military Secretary as a member, is working under al-Zaidi’s direct
supervision to complete and finalize the file, and the coming days will see
additional factions join official security institutions.
Read more: Al-Zaidi at the White House: A sustainable partnership or continued crisis management?