Shafaq News<\/p>\n
Iraq’s ruling
\nShiite Coordination Framework (CF), the political alliance that dominates the
\ncountry’s government, formally tasked Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of
\nthe Armed Forces Ali al-Zaidi on Monday with taking the necessary measures to
\nbring all weapons under state control. This was followed by several of Iraq’s
\nmost powerful Iran-aligned armed factions announcing steps toward disengagement
\nfrom the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and transferring their weapons and
\npersonnel to state authority.<\/p>\n
Consolidating The PMF is a Factions In, Two of the most AAH announced Kataib Imam Ali Ansar Allah The catalyst Read more: Why Iraq\u2019s PMF disarmament is a different battle from Lebanon\u2019s Hezbollah<\/a><\/p>\n The Holdouts<\/p>\n Kataib Kataib Sayyid The The CF and Another source On the Political
\nweapons under exclusive state authority is the first pillar of al-Zaidi’s
\ngovernment program<\/a>, a commitment that, in most countries, would be procedural,
\nbut in Iraq represents the central unresolved dilemma of the post-2003
\npolitical order. The program does not dissolve the PMF. It commits to enhancing
\nthe force’s combat capabilities while formally defining its responsibilities
\nwithin the military structure according to law. <\/p>\n
\nstate-sanctioned paramilitary umbrella formally incorporated into Iraq’s
\nsecurity apparatus following the mobilization against ISIS after 2014. Many of
\nits constituent factions have simultaneously operated under the banner of the
\nIslamic Resistance in Iraq, maintaining independent command structures, funding
\nchannels, and a declared alignment with Iran’s regional network.<\/p>\n
\nFactions Out<\/p>\n
\nconsequential announcements came from Asaib<\/a> Ahl al-Haq (AAH) and Kataib al-Imam Ali<\/a>, both Iran-aligned armed groups that operate brigades inside the PMF while
\nretaining independent organizational identities.<\/p>\n
\nthe formation of an internal central committee to implement its disengagement
\nfrom PMF structures and the transfer of its weapons, personnel, and equipment
\nto the state authority. The group said the decision was taken in alignment with
\nthe call of the supreme religious authority, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, in
\nresponse to the national position of the Coordination Framework, and in
\naffirmation of a declaration made by AAH Secretary-General Qais al-Khazali on
\nDecember 13, 2017, calling for the severance of armed faction ties with the PMF
\nand the consolidation of weapons under the state. AAH currently operates
\nBrigades 41, 42, and 43 within the PMF.<\/p>\n
\nsimilarly announced it would sever its organizational ties with the PMF and
\nbegin procedures to place weapons under state control, describing the move as
\ncompliant with the CF’s position and consistent with its national commitments.<\/p>\n
\nal-Awfiya and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada issued statements expressing support for
\nrestricting weapons to state authority but stopped short of announcing any
\nconcrete steps toward implementation.<\/p>\n
\nwas a decision by Muqtada al-Sadr, leader of the Patriotic Shiite Movement and
\none of Iraq’s most influential Shiite clerics, to place<\/a> Saraya al-Salam \u2014the
\narmed wing of his movement\u2014 under state control. Al-Zaidi welcomed the move
\npublicly, describing it as a step that would strengthen Iraq’s security
\ninstitutions in performing their constitutional duties, and called on other
\narmed factions to follow through.<\/p>\n
\nHezbollah<\/a> and Harakat al-Nujaba<\/a> rejected disarmament outright, conditioning any
\ndiscussion of limiting weapons to the state on the restoration of Iraq’s full
\nsovereignty, the security of the country, and the prevention of foreign
\ninterference. Ashab al-Kahf, one of Iraq’s prominent clandestine armed groups,
\nrejected any political calls for factions to surrender their weapons,
\ndismissing arguments invoking the supreme Shia religious authority in support
\nof disarmament as false.<\/p>\n
\nal-Shuhada took a more qualified position. Its spokesperson, Kazem al-Fartousi,
\ntold Shafaq News the group supports al-Zaidi in managing the state and
\nmaintaining stability but opposes disarmament at the current stage, arguing
\nthat the faction’s weapons are tied to ongoing threats facing Iraq rather than
\nbeing personal arms.<\/p>\n
\nGovernment’s Framework<\/p>\n
\nal-Zaidi agreed in May to establish a committee tasked with overseeing the
\ndisarmament<\/a> of armed factions. A government source told Shafaq News that some
\npolitical forces and armed groups had shown greater flexibility regarding
\nefforts to place all weapons under state control, adding that any handover
\nprocess would be implemented according to a specific timetable.<\/p>\n
\nsaid that al-Zaidi separately proposed a plan to the United States that would
\nlink the expansion of US-led service and investment projects in Iraq to efforts
\nto restrict weapons to state control and facilitate the disarmament of armed
\nfactions, a political source told Shafaq News.<\/p>\n
\nfinancial side, Iraq’s government plans to seek the release of frozen<\/a> state
\nfunds held in the United States<\/a> and several European countries to finance the
\nintegration of more than 800,000 armed faction members into the PMF and other
\nsecurity institutions, another source told Shafaq News.<\/p>\n
\nforces within the CF have also asked international mediators to provide
\nconcrete guarantees that armed factions will not be targeted during efforts to
\ndissolve them and integrate their members into state security institutions. The
\nproposed guarantees include assurances that the factions will not be attacked or
\ntargeted during the process, and that the dissolution and integration steps
\nwill not be tied to a fixed timeline, as the initiative is intended to remain
\nan internal Iraqi process.<\/p>\n