Shafaq News – Baghdad

US requests to confine weapons to the state concern armed groups outside Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), senior commander Aws al-Khafaji said on Sunday, emphasizing that the group’s weapons are officially ordered.

Al-Khafaji, who formerly led the Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas Brigade before its dissolution and integration into the PMF, told Shafaq News that the government has no plan to remove the PMF’s arms, describing such claims as baseless.

The deployment of PMF units, he added, takes place within operational plans prepared by the Joint Operations Command (JOC) in coordination with the Border Operations Command, noting that all movements are conducted under the supervision of the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.

The 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. Tens of thousands of volunteers joined the force, which played a decisive role in defeating the extremists. In 2016, parliament passed a law integrating the PMF into Iraq’s security apparatus, though its command structure and oversight were left undefined.

The proposed law seeks to close the gaps by standardizing military ranks, regulating funding, clarifying ties to the Defense and Finance Ministries, and requiring military backgrounds for leadership. It has divided parliament, with Shiite blocs backing it and some Kurdish and Sunni factions opposed.

The issue has also become entangled in regional rivalries. Washington continues to push for the disarmament of Iran-aligned groups operating in Iraq, while Tehran presents the PMF as a pillar of Iraqi sovereignty and a key component of regional resistance to US influence.