Shafaq News- Baghdad

Four Iraqi armed factions are prepared to place their weapons under state control if a series of conditions are met, including the departure of foreign forces and armed groups from Iraq, lawmaker Faleh Al-Khazali told Shafaq News on Tuesday.

Al-Khazali, head of the Montasiroun (Victorious) parliamentary bloc within the State of Law Coalition, identified the groups as Kataib Hezbollah, Kataib Sayyid Al-Shuhada, Harakat Al-Nujaba and Ansar Allah Al-Awfiya. Their conditions include the withdrawal of US and Turkish forces, the removal of Iranian opposition groups and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the dissolution of the Peshmerga forces, stronger armament for the Iraqi military and measures to prevent foreign aircraft from using Iraqi airspace to strike Iran.

Efforts to bring weapons under state control extend beyond the factions, with authorities already working to regulate more than six million weapons held by tribes, according to Al-Khazali. He linked that process to strengthening Iraq’s security forces and their ability to protect the country and its sovereign decisions.

“The PKK, Turkish forces and Iranian opposition groups all pose a threat to Iraq and neighboring countries,” Al-Khazali said. He added that the four factions had not opposed US economic interests even when around 160,000 US troops were present in Iraq, saying their position had instead focused on US military bases and what they regarded as occupation.

“Iraqi provinces fell to ISIS despite the presence of US bases,” he said, while backing stronger support for Iraq’s security forces to prevent the group from returning.

With the US military withdrawal deadline approaching, Al-Khazali called for Turkish troops, the PKK and Iranian opposition groups to leave Iraq as well. “There are around 4,000 Turkish troops and five Turkish bases inside Iraq,” he said.

The four factions existed before the fall of Saddam Hussein’s government, according to Al-Khazali, who claimed their weapons had not targeted Iraqi civilians, the political system or infrastructure. He put their losses in fighting at more than 6,000 members.

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Al-Khazali said he had collected the signatures of 80 lawmakers for a decision aimed at securing Chinese support to arm the Iraqi military. He claimed US officials had warned the government that turning to China could expose Iraq to economic sanctions.

According to Al-Khazali, the United States has also obstructed efforts to equip the Iraqi military and air force. He called for Iraq to retain sovereign control over economic and security decisions and prevent foreign interference or violations of its airspace.

“Around 30 US and Israeli aircraft and drones enter Iraqi airspace every day to carry out strikes against Iran,” Al-Khazali said. He maintained that attacks launched against Iran through Iraqi airspace were the largest in the region and that the stance of the Iraqi public had prevented Tehran from responding against Iraq as it had against some Gulf states.

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On legislation governing the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), Al-Khazali said the proposed PMF Service and Retirement Law had been stalled by US intervention and economic threats before being withdrawn from parliament. The PMF would remain governed by its existing law and could not be dissolved or integrated, he said.

Read more:Iraq's PMF Service and Retirement Law: Is political exploitation inevitable?