Shafaq News
Iraq's ruling Shiite Coordination Framework (CF), the political alliance that dominates the country's government, formally tasked Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Ali al-Zaidi on Monday with taking the necessary measures to bring all weapons under state control. This was followed by several of Iraq's most powerful Iran-aligned armed factions announcing steps toward disengagement from the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and transferring their weapons and personnel to state authority.
Consolidating weapons under exclusive state authority is the first pillar of al-Zaidi's government program, a commitment that, in most countries, would be procedural, but in Iraq represents the central unresolved dilemma of the post-2003 political order. The program does not dissolve the PMF. It commits to enhancing the force's combat capabilities while formally defining its responsibilities within the military structure according to law.
The PMF is a state-sanctioned paramilitary umbrella formally incorporated into Iraq's security apparatus following the mobilization against ISIS after 2014. Many of its constituent factions have simultaneously operated under the banner of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, maintaining independent command structures, funding channels, and a declared alignment with Iran's regional network.
Factions In, Factions Out
Two of the most consequential announcements came from Asaib Ahl al-Haq (AAH) and Kataib al-Imam Ali, both Iran-aligned armed groups that operate brigades inside the PMF while retaining independent organizational identities.
AAH announced the formation of an internal central committee to implement its disengagement from PMF structures and the transfer of its weapons, personnel, and equipment to the state authority. The group said the decision was taken in alignment with the call of the supreme religious authority, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, in response to the national position of the Coordination Framework, and in affirmation of a declaration made by AAH Secretary-General Qais al-Khazali on December 13, 2017, calling for the severance of armed faction ties with the PMF and the consolidation of weapons under the state. AAH currently operates Brigades 41, 42, and 43 within the PMF.
Kataib Imam Ali similarly announced it would sever its organizational ties with the PMF and begin procedures to place weapons under state control, describing the move as compliant with the CF's position and consistent with its national commitments.
Ansar Allah al-Awfiya and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada issued statements expressing support for restricting weapons to state authority but stopped short of announcing any concrete steps toward implementation.
The catalyst was a decision by Muqtada al-Sadr, leader of the Patriotic Shiite Movement and one of Iraq's most influential Shiite clerics, to place Saraya al-Salam —the armed wing of his movement— under state control. Al-Zaidi welcomed the move publicly, describing it as a step that would strengthen Iraq's security institutions in performing their constitutional duties, and called on other armed factions to follow through.
Read more: Why Iraq’s PMF disarmament is a different battle from Lebanon’s Hezbollah
The Holdouts
Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba rejected disarmament outright, conditioning any discussion of limiting weapons to the state on the restoration of Iraq's full sovereignty, the security of the country, and the prevention of foreign interference. Ashab al-Kahf, one of Iraq's prominent clandestine armed groups, rejected any political calls for factions to surrender their weapons, dismissing arguments invoking the supreme Shia religious authority in support of disarmament as false.
Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada took a more qualified position. Its spokesperson, Kazem al-Fartousi, told Shafaq News the group supports al-Zaidi in managing the state and maintaining stability but opposes disarmament at the current stage, arguing that the faction's weapons are tied to ongoing threats facing Iraq rather than being personal arms.
The Government's Framework
The CF and al-Zaidi agreed in May to establish a committee tasked with overseeing the disarmament of armed factions. A government source told Shafaq News that some political forces and armed groups had shown greater flexibility regarding efforts to place all weapons under state control, adding that any handover process would be implemented according to a specific timetable.
Another source said that al-Zaidi separately proposed a plan to the United States that would link the expansion of US-led service and investment projects in Iraq to efforts to restrict weapons to state control and facilitate the disarmament of armed factions, a political source told Shafaq News.
On the financial side, Iraq's government plans to seek the release of frozen state funds held in the United States and several European countries to finance the integration of more than 800,000 armed faction members into the PMF and other security institutions, another source told Shafaq News.
Political forces within the CF have also asked international mediators to provide concrete guarantees that armed factions will not be targeted during efforts to dissolve them and integrate their members into state security institutions. The proposed guarantees include assurances that the factions will not be attacked or targeted during the process, and that the dissolution and integration steps will not be tied to a fixed timeline, as the initiative is intended to remain an internal Iraqi process.
Us Pressure And The September Deadline
Washington has applied sustained pressure on Baghdad to bring all weapons under state authority. The US State Department dismissed a prior Iraqi attempt to link disarmament to the future of the US-led Global Coalition in Iraq, urging Baghdad to dismantle “Iran-backed militias.” A Department spokesperson told Shafaq News earlier that these groups engage in violent and destabilizing activities in Iraq, adding that their actions drain the country's resources and act against its national interests.
Baghdad and Washington finalized an agreement last year setting a roadmap for the full withdrawal of American forces by September 2026. The approaching deadline has compressed the timeline for any settlement on the weapons file.
Expert Assessment
Iraqi experts who spoke to Shafaq News urged caution. Legal expert Mohammad Jumaa noted that Iraqi law, including the Weapons Law and Penal Code, criminalizes the possession or use of arms outside state authority, stressing that any weapon outside the state's structure is illegal, whether licensed without official permission or entirely unlicensed.
Strategic analyst Ahmad al-Sharifi argued that dismantling armed factions in Iraq is blocked by entrenched power-sharing and the dominance of the Shiite Coordination Framework, which backs the current government, saying that the government, as a product of that framework, cannot make decisions that run counter to its interests or Iran's preferences.
Al-Zaidi's government program frames the weapons file as non-negotiable. Whether the committee the CF has mandated him to lead can translate that commitment into verified transfers —across factions with divergent interests, independent finances, and regional patrons— remains, as of the date of this report, unconfirmed.
Read more: Iraq’s armed factions and the disarmament debate: Why unity masks deep divisions