Iraqi PM sets June 30 deadline for pro-Iran factions to disarm

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on Thursday announced June 30 as a new deadline for armed factions to turn over their weapons to the state, following the end of the US-led coalition’s mission in the country.

“October 1 is considered a serious beginning to address the issue of weapons outside state control… according to a clear roadmap and agreed timelines extending no later than June 30, 2027,” Mr. Zaidi said in a statement, having backed away from an original September 30 deadline.

The Iraqi government believes the withdrawal of coalition forces will deprive the armed factions, many of which are backed by Iran, of the excuse they have used to retain their arsenal.

But many fear the pullout might boost the factions instead, and draw the country deeper into the West Asia war.

“Based on the constitutional principle, the decision of war and peace should be left to the constitutional authorities, banning all military action to the contrary,” Mr. Zaidi said on Thursday (October 1).

The U.S.-led, anti-jihadist coalition officially ended its mission in Iraq a day earlier, more than a decade after it deployed to the country to help fight the Islamic State (IS) group.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards welcomed on Thursday the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq as a “historic victory” and called for American troops to leave the Middle East.

The Guards “congratulate the proud nation of Iraq, the united front of the Islamic Resistance, and the revolutionary fighters of the Islamic world on this historic victory,” they said in a statement carried by official media.

‘Not bound by any timeline’

Mr. Zaidi had originally set September 30 as the deadline for factions to disarm, but later withdrew it as talks to “regulate” weapons continued.

While some factions have already handed over their weapons to the state, others have refused to disarm.

Iraqi armed factions backed by Tehran said on Wednesday (September 30) that they were “not bound by any timeline or agreement” to surrender their weapons to the state.

A military spokesman for Kataeb Hezbollah, Jaafar al-Husseini, said at an event to celebrate the withdrawal of U.S.-led coalition forces that the factions had been in talks on “regulating” their weapons but “have not yet received a response from the Iraqi government”.

“Based on this, the Islamic Resistance declares that it is not bound by any timetable or agreement that any governmental or political party has spoken of or may speak of.”

Factions have put forward conditions that include not only the withdrawal of foreign troops but also an end to American political and economic interference.

Kataeb Hezbollah has said the withdrawal of “the occupation forces… is a start towards achieving full sovereignty”.

But the group also threatened Zaidi’s government.

“A government that doesn’t work for the good of its people will be brought down by all possible means,” it said.

The pro-Iran groups had long demanded the withdrawal of U.S. troops, targeting them with drones and missiles, and triggering U.S. retaliatory strikes that killed several faction commanders over the years.

During the West Asia war that began with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, Tehran and allied factions intensified their attacks in Iraq, targeting U.S.-led troops in the Kurdistan region.