Shafaq News- Baghdad

An Iraqi armed faction involved in government-led talks to bring weapons under state control has proposed creating a new ministry to support the country’s security institutions, an informed source told Shafaq News on Thursday, as the weapons negotiations unfold alongside bargaining over the remaining posts in Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi’s cabinet.

The source said the proposal was raised during negotiations with thecommittee tasked with talks with armed factions. The source did not identify the faction or specify the proposed ministry’s mandate.

Some factions have also sought guarantees as part of any agreement to place their weapons under state authority, the source said. The source did not specify the nature of those guarantees but said the government was “unwilling to allow them to become political privileges.”

According to the source, several of the factions’ main conditions have either been met or are moving forward, including the end of the US-led Coalition’s military mission in Iraq and steps toward reducing Turkiye’s military presence.

Read more: Iraq factions resist disarmament as coalition exit nears

The Coalition’s military mission in Iraq ended on September 30, with Baghdad holding “Sovereignty Days” events to mark the transition. On Thursday, Turkiye’s Defense Ministry separately announced that its Bashiqa-Zilkan military base in northern Iraq would be gradually handed over to Iraqi authorities under an agreed mechanism and timetable.

Badr Organization lawmaker Abu Turab Al-Tamimi rejected suggestions that the factions were seeking political benefits for themselves, telling Shafaq News that their demands centered on “full Iraqi sovereignty” over the country’s territory and airspace, freedom from outside influence and stronger air defenses.

The weapons-control talks are proceeding alongside separate political negotiations over the remaining posts in Al-Zaidi’s government.

Al-Tamimi said those discussions include restoring deputy prime minister posts. He said that if Laith Al-Khazali is approved as a deputy prime minister, the State of Law Coalition’s nominee for interior minister could also move forward, along with nominees for other portfolios, including Higher Education and Labor and Social Affairs.

Read more: Iraq's armed factions sit at the center of a Middle East war

He added that the Taqaddum Party, led by former parliament speaker Mohammed Al-Halbousi, is seeking a vice-presidential post, a demand he argued could diminish the role of the current president.

Duha Al-Sadkhan, an MP from the National Approach parliamentary bloc, said there was a preliminary agreement to complete the cabinet next week, noting that “there are political talks and understandings over the nominee for interior minister, but I do not think it is appropriate to speak of a final agreement on the cabinet until the name has been formally agreed.”

Al-Sadkhan said nominees should be chosen on the basis of competence, professionalism and political acceptability, adding that parliament should retain its constitutional role in reviewing and voting on the candidates.

An informed government source told Shafaq News on Tuesday that if political blocs fail to agree on individual nominees, the remaining cabinet candidates could be submitted to parliament as a single package.

Parliament approved Al-Zaidi’s government on May 14, confirming 14 of 23 ministers but leaving nine portfolios vacant, including the key Interior and Defense ministries, because of disagreements among political blocs. Al-Zaidi was subsequently backed by the Coordination Framework to hold talks with political leaders over the unresolved posts.