Shafaq News- Washington

Iraq's September 30 deadline for armed factions to give up their weapons will be a serious test of Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi's efforts to bring all arms under state control, former Global Coalition spokesman and US official Miles Cagins told Shafaq News on Sunday.

Cagins noted that Baghdad would also need to make progress on the issue to maintain strong relations with the United States. However, he cautioned against expecting all factions to fully hand over their arsenals by the deadline, pointing to a major political hurdle: some armed factions have yet to accept the plan, including Kataib Hezbollah, one of Iraq's most powerful Iran-aligned armed groups.

A more likely outcome, he argued, would be for some groups to stage symbolic ceremonies and surrender only part of their weapons.

Despite the standoff, Cagins ruled out an armed confrontation between the factions and Iraq's security forces. Nobody wants to see Iraq descend into internal fighting, he noted.

Washington has for years urged successive Iraqi governments to place all weapons under state authority and limit the influence of Iran-backed armed groups, warning that a lack of progress on those issues could affect future cooperation between the two countries. Several Iran-aligned factions, including Harakat al-Nujaba and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, continue to reject disarmament while US forces remain in the country.

State control over weapons is a central pillar of al-Zaidi’s government program. Since taking office, he has maintained that the authority to carry arms and enforce the law rests solely with the state, calling on armed groups to join official security institutions through legal frameworks.

Read more: Iraq's September 30 weapons deadline leave sterms of disarmament unresolved

For Shafaq News, Mostafa Hashem, Washington, D.C.