Shafaq News- Baghdad

The United States and several Iraqi political factions are seeking to dismantle the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) by integrating its members into other state institutions, an Iraqi lawmaker from the Hoqooq Movement, the political wing of Kataib Hezbollah, said on Monday.

Speaking to Shafaq News, MP Miqdad Al-Khafaji argued that the issue is being used as leverage against factions affiliated with the “resistance” and their parliamentary allies to influence future political decisions and projects. He stressed that the Hoqooq Movement rejects any effort to absorb the PMF, which includes more than 200,000 personnel, into ministries or state institutions.

Debate over regulating weapons outside state control and restructuring armed factions has intensified in recent weeks. A government source told Shafaq News on Sunday that several Iraqi political factions and armed groups had shown “flexibility” toward handing over their weapons to the state after previously rejecting the proposal, with a phased process expected to begin after Eid Al-Adha on May 27.

According to the source, discussions are underway to establish a mechanism for transferring weapons under the supervision of Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi following the completion of cabinet formation. Under the proposed arrangements, armed groups could transform into political entities or gradually join the PMF, a coalition of mostly Shiite factions formally incorporated into Iraq’s security apparatus under Law No. 40 of 2016.

The source also indicated that several factions previously opposed to disarmament or integration softened their position after receiving messages from Esmail Qaani during his recent visit to Baghdad, noting that the messages emphasized regulating the weapons of Iran-aligned factions and integrating their members into official institutions because there was “no longer a need” for independent armed formations.

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