Baghdad weapon-control drive relies on US-Iran deal – Shafaq News

Shafaq News- Baghdad

The future of Iraq’s armed factions will largely depend on
the outcome of any potential agreement between Iran and the United States,
Iraqi lawmaker Mukhtar al-Moussawi remarked on Saturday, as Baghdad intensifies
efforts to bring weapons under state control.

Speaking to Shafaq News, al-Moussawi, a member of parliament’s
Foreign Relations Committee from the Shiite Badr bloc, led by Hadi Al-Amiri,
indicated that Iraq does not have full control over the matter, pointing to
divisions within the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) —a predominantly Shiite
umbrella force incorporated into the Iraqi state in 2016.

“Some are prepared to hand over weapons or sever
organizational ties, while others remain firmly opposed,” he explained,
describing the current developments as temporary political arrangements.

The issue, he added, could reemerge in a different form once
the trajectory of US-Iran relations becomes clearer. “If an agreement is
reached and signed between both countries, the approach to Iraq’s weapons file
will change entirely.”

Earlier this month, Baghdad outlined the first practical
steps toward integrating armed factions into the state’s security framework,
beginning with the transfer of facilities and weapons belonging to Saraya
al-Salam of Iraq’s Patriotic Shiite Movement (PSM).

The move is part of a broader government effort to place
weapons under state authority, backed by the ruling Shiite Coordination
Framework (CF), which recently endorsed Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s plans to
restructure relations between armed groups and the state.

Iran-backed armed groups Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Kataib Imam
Ali have previously introduced measures aimed at reorganizing their forces and
aligning them with the government’s weapons-control initiative. Kataib
Hezbollah and Ashab al-Kahf, however, have rejected calls for disengagement.

Read more: How the US pushed Iraq’s armed factions toward disarmament, and who is still pushing back