Qaani Visit Focuses on Iraq Weapons Plan
Arabic version: زيارة قاآني تركز على خطة العراق بشأن السلاح
According to Al Jazeera, Esmail Qaani, commander of the Quds Force in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, made an unannounced visit to Baghdad earlier this week. An Iraqi source within the leading Coordination Framework said Qaani met Iraqi political and security leaders and commanders of Shia paramilitaries on Monday to discuss the government’s plan to bring weapons under state control.
The anonymous source said Tehran conveyed a message through Qaani opposing the handover of faction weapons “at the present time”, citing Iranian expectations that a new round of war could break out. The message called for a political compromise rather than confrontation between the government and armed factions that reject disarmament. Iraqi political parties oppose using force to carry out the plan, the source said.
Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi faces a political and security crisis ahead of a September 30 deadline to restrict all weapons to state control. He has said his government wants to implement a 2024 agreement with the United States-led coalition’s military mission in Iraq to end its presence as combat forces by the end of September. On Tuesday, he directed parliament’s Security and Defence Committee to prepare a draft law restricting weapons to the state.
Some armed groups have agreed to join the state’s armed forces, but Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba remain among powerful Shia paramilitaries resisting the move. The State Administration Coalition has called for weapons to be limited to the state and said entities operating outside official institutions and threatening security are “outlaws that must be fought”. Meanwhile, Hikma Movement head Ammar al-Hakim is leading efforts to reduce tensions and persuade factions to accept the restriction during the month remaining before the deadline.
Security tensions rose in Baghdad last week after armed factions threatened to respond to Saudi-US attacks on Popular Mobilisation Forces sites late last month. US Central Command said it launched joint attacks with Saudi Arabia on July 28 against “Iran-aligned terrorists” it said the IRGC had directed to attack US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure. Government and political-faction efforts later contained the tension and opened a path for de-escalation and diplomatic movement.