Shafaq News – Baghdad

On Saturday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s Representative in Iraq, Mojtaba al-Husseini, dismissed US calls to dissolve the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), describing them as unachievable.

Al-Husseini told Fars News agency that the PMF is militarily capable, adding, “If the enemy causes any harm, it will be the biggest loser.” He also claimed that Washington seeks to impose on Iraq the same fate as Syria, but there is “no basis for such a scenario.”

The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) was formed in 2014 after Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani’s fatwa calling on Iraqis to defend the country following the fall of Mosul to ISIS, drawing tens of thousands of volunteers — including fighters from existing armed groups — who went on to play a central role in the campaign against the extremists. In 2016, parliament passed a law recognizing the force as part of Iraq’s security apparatus, though it left its command structure and oversight mechanisms undefined.

The new draft PMF Authority Law aims to close those gaps by standardizing military ranks, regulating funding, defining ties to the Ministries of Defense and Finance, creating internal oversight bodies, and requiring military backgrounds for leadership. The bill has divided parliament, with Shiite blocs in the Coordination Framework pushing it forward while Kurdish and Sunni parties resist.

The controversy has also drawn in Washington and Tehran. The United States has pressed for the PMF’s disarmament or dissolution, arguing that many of its factions are tied to Iran and already designated as terrorist organizations. However, Iran portrays the PMF as essential to Iraq’s sovereignty and regional resistance, framing US pressure as part of a broader campaign to erode its influence across the region.

Today, Iraq’s parliamentary Security and Defense Committee announced it had finalized the draft of the PMF Law and submitted it to the speaker’s office.