Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi on Wednesday reached an understanding with Asaib Ahl Al-Haq and Kataib Imam Ali, two of Iraq’s most powerful Iran-aligned armed factions, to form a joint committee that will coordinate placing weapons under state control within two days.

The arrangement followed a meeting between Al-Zaidi and delegations from each faction. The proposed committee will define mechanisms to implement procedures linked to separating the factions from the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) structure and limiting weapons to state authority in line with the constitution and Iraqi law.

Al-Zaidi also welcomed the “responsible positions” taken by Asaib Ahl Al-Haq leader Qais Al-Khazali and Kataib Imam Ali Secretary-General Shibl Al-Zaidi, noting Iraq has entered a new phase marked by improved security conditions and a shift in priorities toward reconstruction, development, and strengthening state institutions.

Earlier today, a source told Shafaq News that around 35,000 members of Iraqi armed factions would be integrated into state security and military institutions in exchange for surrendering their weapons, describing the plan as a major step with the potential to reshape the country’s armed landscape.

The initiative builds on earlier integration steps, including the incorporation of about 15,000 members of Saraya Al-Salam, the armed wing of Iraq’s Patriotic Shiite Movement (PSM-Sadrist), led by Muqtada Al-Sadr, who previously ordered the dissolution of those forces, leaving roughly 20,000 positions under the current framework.

Meanwhile, Ashab Al-Kahf, one of Iraq’s prominent clandestine armed groups, rejected political calls for factions to surrender weapons, dismissing references to the supreme Shia religious authority in support of disarmament as unfounded. Kataib Hezbollah, for its part, backed efforts to centralize arms under government oversight while indicating it would not proceed with disarmament.

Read more: Is Iraq closer to restricting weapons to the state?