Analysts warn that continued failure to reach progress in the disarmament of Iran-backed factions could prompt Washington to withdraw support for the Iraqi govt
Iraqi armed factions have proposed placing their weapons in their own storage facilities and suspending military activity for two years, rather than handing their arsenals to the state, political sources close to the governing Coordination Framework told The New Arab.
The proposal, which Baghdad has rejected, highlights the obstacles facing Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s government as it seeks to bring all weapons under state control without triggering a confrontation with Iran-aligned groups in the country.
Three Iraqi political sources, including a senior parliamentarian, said the government received the proposal in recent days. Under the plan, unnamed factions would halt armed operations and place their weapons in designated warehouses for two years, but would retain control of them rather than transfer them to Iraqi security forces.
A senior Iraqi MP told *The New Arab *that Kataib Hezbollah was among the groups to have proposed freezing its weapons in private depots and ceasing armed activity inside Iraq for two years.
The group also linked the proposal to the future of US forces in Iraq and demanded assurances that its leaders would not be targeted, the MP said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
"The government rejected the proposal, considering it an attempt to circumvent the principle of ending weapons outside the official security forces," the lawmaker said.
Baghdad is using intermediaries including former Council fo Representatives member Hadi al-Ameri, National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji and Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) chief Faleh al-Fayyadh to engage with the armed groups, according to the source. No direct meeting has yet taken place between Zaidi and faction leaders or their representatives.
The most influential factions, with close ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, continue to reject surrendering their weapons, while warning they could escalate against the government if it attempts to use force.
Kataib Hezbollah, Harakat al-Nujaba, Kataib al-Wafiyoun and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada have in recent weeks issued public statements setting conditions for any discussion of their weapons.
These include the withdrawal of US and Turkish forces from Iraq, the dismantling of the Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga forces, an end to what they describe as US influence over Iraq’s political, economic and financial decision-making, and the expulsion of US companies.
Other groups, including Badr, Kataib al-Tufuf and Harakat al-Abdal, have not publicly set out their positions.
Zaidi said last week that his government did not intend to clash militarily with the factions, describing the effort to monopolise weapons in state hands as a "constructive dialogue".
He said some groups had handed over weapons, severed their organisational ties and joined the state-sanctioned PMF, while talks continued with others. Zaidi said political forces broadly supported the effort, which he described as consistent with Iraq’s constitution and necessary to strengthen state authority and stability.
However, sources close to the Coordination Framework said proposals to regulate or freeze the weapons, rather than surrender them, had found little support within the government. They said such arrangements were also unlikely to satisfy Washington or neighbouring states concerned about factions’ drones and missiles, including weapons with a range exceeding 100 kilometres.
A former Iraqi government adviser told *The New Arab *that Baghdad does not have a reliable database detailing the quantity or types of weapons held by the factions — a gap that makes official claims of progress difficult to assess.
He said the consensus in Baghdad was to avoid a military confrontation, including raids on faction bases and camps, because of the risk of a wider internal conflict and Iran’s influence over the groups.
The Iraqi state has received weapons from several factions, including Harakat al-Imam Ali and Asaib Ahl al-Haq, he said. But the equipment handed over was limited and did not reflect the groups’ full capabilities.
The adviser said Kataib Hezbollah, Harakat al-Nujaba and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada remained the three main factions unwilling even to make a symbolic handover. Together, the groups have around 30,000 fighters affiliated with the PMF, he said, although their organisational structures and armaments remain tied to their respective factions.
Iraqi political researcher Ali al-Taie warned that continued failure to make progress could prompt Washington to withdraw support for Zaidi’s government and revive the use of sanctions against Iraqi state and private-sector bodies.
He argued that Washington would view any formula short of the surrender of drones and missiles as an attempt to evade disarmament. The US, he added, is unlikely to accept transfer of weapons to the PMF as a sufficient solution, viewing many of the factions and the umbrella force as closely intertwined.
Kataib Hezbollah renewed its rejection of disarmament in a statement on 18 August, issuing threats against Zaidi and accusing him of pursuing US-backed policies. The group said that any arrangement with the government required the withdrawal of US forces, the removal of Turkish troops from northern Iraq and the dismantling of the Peshmerga.
Earlier this month, Iraqi MP and parliamentary security committee member Othman al-Shaybani said Zaidi had warned that failure to resolve the weapons issue could invite international — particularly US — intervention.
Shaybani said such intervention could go beyond political pressure and involve strikes on faction sites, a scenario the government is trying to avert through negotiations and efforts to place all armed groups under state authority.
