Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al Zaidi meets with Iraq’s Parliamentary Security and Defense Committee August 11. (Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office on X)
Gen. Esmail Qaani, commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), traveled to Iraq on August 10. The trip took place as Iraq is drafting a law to confine weapons to the state, which could sideline powerful Iran-backed Iraqi militias that have carried out numerous attacks within Iraq and regionally. Iraqi militias recently targeted Saudi Arabia, setting off a crisis between Riyadh and Baghdad.
Qaani has traveled to Baghdad in the past amid Iran’s attempt to influence politics in Iraq. “An informed source told Kurdistan24 that Qaani is leading a high-level military and security delegation and has already met with figures from the Coordination Framework [the leading Shiite political bloc], including Badr Organization leader Hadi al-Amiri, as Baghdad approaches a Sept. 30 deadline to place all weapons under state control,” the Erbil-based Kurdistan24 reported on August 11.
Alhurra also reported on the importance of the Qaani visit, noting the importance of its timing: “Qaani arrived with just 50 days remaining before a Sept. 30 deadline set by the Iraqi government for armed factions to surrender their weapons, as Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi seeks to bring all arms under state control and Tehran moves to prevent the effort from triggering a confrontation with its Iraqi allies.”
In addition to meeting with members of the Coordination Framework to discuss militia weapons, Qaani also discussed Iraq’s exports of oil through the Strait of Hormuz. Iraq has been unable to export oil through the waterway since February due to the Iranian blockade and the US-Iran conflict.
The meetings occurred as Iraq moves forward with a law to confine arms to the hands of the state. “Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on Tuesday directed the security and defense committee to prepare a draft law to confine weapons to the hands of the state, aiming to consolidate control over armed factions amid heightened regional military escalations and an upcoming US coalition withdrawal,” the Rudaw Media Network reported on August 12. Zaidi met with Iraq’s Parliamentary Security and Defense Committee recently to direct them to prepare the law.
The new law is supposed to mandate state control of arms by September 30. US forces, deployed to Iraq as part of the coalition mission against the Islamic State, are also expected to leave Iraq by September 30. The practical steps of how Iraq will confine weapons to state control or control Iranian-backed militias are unclear. On August 7, Iraq’s Shafaq News noted the complex road ahead for Baghdad in seeking to deal with the various Iranian-backed militias.
Iran continued its attacks during the week of Qaani’s visit. On August 11, Iran targeted the Kurdish Iranian opposition group Komala in Alana valley of Erbil province, injuring several of its members in a missile attack.
On August 12, Iran also conducted drone attacks near Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. “At least four Iranian drones crashed in three locations across Erbil province early Wednesday, including near civilian homes, after Iran launched a series of strikes targeting positions of Iranian Kurdish opposition groups in Alana Valley,” Rudaw noted. These attacks targeted Komala and the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI).
Iran and Iranian-backed groups have carried out more than 1,000 attacks on the autonomous Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq since February.