Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq's Shiite Coordination Framework (CF), the country's main ruling coalition that includes parties linked to armed factions, will review efforts to place weapons under state control during a meeting with Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi in the coming days, a CF source revealed to Shafaq News on Saturday.

The meeting will focus on three key issues: Muqtada Al-Sadr's decision to fully separate Saraya Al-Salam, the armed wing of his Patriotic Shiite Movement (PSM), from the movement and place its weapons under state authority; the future of armed factions and the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a predominantly Shiite umbrella force incorporated into the Iraqi state in 2016; and completing political agreements and scheduling a parliamentary session to vote on the remaining ministries.

According to the source, proposals under discussion include creating a security ministry that would encompass the PMF, the Federal Police, and the Border Guards, or alternatively integrating PMF factions into the Interior and Defense ministries.

On May 27, Al-Sadr announced the formal separation of Saraya Al-Salam from the PSM, stating that its members would join state institutions "in the national interest." Earlier today, Al-Zaidi, who has made state control over weapons a central pledge of his government program, and representatives of Al-Sadr agreed on a mechanism to integrate Saraya Al-Salam into Iraq's security forces and transfer its weapons to the state, forming a committee to oversee the implementation process.

A government source previously told our agency that Al-Zaidi is preparing to launch the next phase of efforts to bring armed factions under state control, with a high-level meeting planned to set a timetable for disarmament, integration of fighters into official institutions, and the dismantling of faction-controlled sites.

Read more: Ali Al-Zaidi's incomplete cabinet faces Iraqi armed factions test

The broader government plan is widely viewed as targeting factions operating under the "Islamic Resistance in Iraq" umbrella, including Kataib Hezbollah, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Kataib Sayyed al-Shuhadaa, and Harakat al-Nujaba. While many of these groups are formally part of the PMF, they continue to maintain separate command structures and weapons networks outside direct government control.

Read more: Iraq’s armed factions and disarmament debate: Unity masks divisions