Sources have revealed new understandings on placing the weapons of armed factions in Iraq under state control, providing for the process to be completed in June 2027 and for the handover of strategic weapons to the government to begin in March that year, alongside the integration of faction formations into state institutions.
The sources said the process of integrating faction brigades into the Popular Mobilisation Commission would begin after the US withdrawal from Iraq was completed at the end of this month. They noted that, under the understandings, the factions had pledged to halt any military activity contrary to the Iraqi state.
The sources added that parties were currently working to persuade the United States of the details of the new understandings, while Baghdad remained committed to managing the weapons issue through dialogue and avoiding a slide into military confrontation.
Negotiations to hand over weapons
The Iraqi government is working to place weapons under state control through negotiations with armed factions. The talks have resulted in some factions agreeing to hand over their weapons, while others have refused to relinquish them or expressed reservations about the proposed procedures.
An Iraqi official said on Monday that Prime Minister Ali al-Zaydi was expected to brief US President Donald Trump on the weapons-control plan during their meeting in New York, on the sidelines of the general debate of the UN General Assembly, which begins on Tuesday and continues until next Monday at the organisation’s headquarters.
Iraq’s senior deputy interior minister, Hussein al-Awadi, confirmed that the ministry intended to place more than 6 million weapons under state control in the coming months. Speaking at a joint press conference on Monday with Salah al-Din Governor Haitham al-Zahwan, he added that all official security formations were continuing to implement the government decision on placing weapons under state control.
Withdrawal and faction integration
In an earlier announcement, Baghdad had set 30 September as the date for completing the withdrawal of the international coalition forces from Iraq, after which procedures to place the weapons of the Islamic Resistance factions under state control would begin. The talks encountered obstacles because several factions refused to disarm within the specified timeframe.
The main groups maintaining this position included the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades, Harakat al-Nujaba, the Sayyid al-Shuhada Brigades, the Saraya Awliya al-Dam, Ashab al-Kahf and other factions.
The spread of weapons outside the state’s authority is one of Iraq’s main security and political challenges. Some armed factions operate under the umbrella of the Popular Mobilisation Commission, while others operate independently.
Faction positions
Abu Alaa al-Walai, secretary-general of the Sayyid al-Shuhada Brigades, said on Monday that Iraq’s Islamic Resistance factions had put forward no personal or political demands during their talks with the government on regulating weapons in the country, and had placed no interest above that of Iraq.
The factions’ primary concern is Iraq’s sovereignty, national decision-making and independence, as well as rejecting guardianship and external intervention.
Al-Walai added that these principles “are worth the sacrifices and take precedence over all considerations”, stressing that the resistance would continue “until Iraq is master of its own affairs”.
Al-Amiri’s initiative
Iraqi websites reported on Monday on an initiative by Badr Organisation leader Hadi al-Amiri, which he presented to the Shiite Coordination Framework parties. It calls for delaying the process of placing the weapons of the Islamic Resistance factions under state control until June 2027, a date that aligns with the timeframe set out in the new understandings.
