Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iran’s Quds Force Commander Esmail Qaani urged Iraqi armed factions “not to surrender their weapons for now” while warning them against any armed confrontation with government forces, instead pressing for a political settlement with Baghdad, an informed source told Shafaq News on Tuesday.

Asked directly by faction leaders about Tehran’s position on handing their weapons to the state, Qaani opposed disarmament at this stage, the source said, adding that any clash with Iraqi security forces “could trigger a broader domestic crisis.”

Instead, Qaani advocated a political settlement that would avert confrontation while allowing the factions to retain their weapons for the time being. In separate meetings with leaders of the ruling Shiite Coordination Framework, he urged them to press the government for such an arrangement, according to the source.

Qaani arrived in Baghdad on Monday at the head of a high-level military and security delegation for an unannounced visit that included talks with Badr Organization leader Hadi al-Amiri and other political and faction figures. He returned to Tehran after the meetings.

The Iranian official's visit comes less than two months before a Sept. 30 deadline set by the State Administration Coalition (SAC) to bring weapons under state control. The coalition, which includes Iraq’s main Shiite, Sunni, and Kurdish political forces, has warned that armed activity outside state institutions after that date “will be treated as unlawful.”

Read more: Days to disarm Iraq's factions: deadline or negotiable ceiling?

The disarmament drive has divided the factions; Kataib Hezbollah, Harakat al-Nujaba, and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada have rejected relinquishing their military capabilities, arguing that the issue cannot be separated from the withdrawal of foreign forces and guarantees against external attacks. Other groups have signaled willingness to reorganize their relationship with the state.

Read more: What happens to Iraq's armed factions after September 30?

The Sept. 30 deadline also coincides with the planned end of the US-led Coalition’s military presence in Iraq, a linkage that armed factions have invoked in arguing against surrendering their weapons before foreign forces leave.