ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The leader of the Iran-aligned Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq Iraqi armed group on Thursday reiterated support for confining all non-state arms to state control, despite the rejection of several factions and as a September 30 deadline looms.
“There is no contradiction in our position regarding restricting and handing over weapons,” Qais al-Khazali said in an interview with state-run Iraqi Media Network (IMN), asserting that “it is time for us to take a step forward and give part of our space to the state.”
Khazali explained that he and other leaders of Iraq's ruling Shiite Coordination Framework unanimously support advancing the arms restriction initiative, noting that “confining weapons to the state is a legitimate and correct ambition for the stability of its institutions.”
In his inaugural address to parliament in mid-May, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi pledged to pursue security reforms, including "confining weapons under state control." In June, he ordered the formation of a committee to oversee the disengagement of political parties and armed factions from the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq was among the first groups to agree to Zaidi's push, severing ties with their fighters within the PMF.
Established in 2014 following a religious decree by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's highest Shiite religious authority, the PMF began as an umbrella organization of roughly 70 predominantly Shiite armed groups with 250,000 members formed to counter the Islamic State (ISIS) insurgency.
Though state-funded, the PMF comprises factions aligned with the Iran-led ‘Axis of Resistance,’ including Kata'ib Hezbollah, Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, and Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada. While some groups have expressed willingness to comply with Zaidi's push, the three Iran-aligned factions have cited the continued presence of foreign forces - including those from the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS - as pretext for non-compliance.
Importantly, September 30 is also the deadline for the withdrawal of US and coalition forces from Iraq, per a 2024 agreement between Baghdad and Washington.
"Restricting weapons means that weapons and fighters become part of the state's system," Khazali said, clarifying that his group would "sever our political and partisan ties with the fighters upon their integration into the state's system."
He emphasized that keeping arms within formal institutions serves the public interest, noting that "weapons outside state institutions had objective reasons and circumstances related to the occupation and ISIS."
The Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq leader explained that "the success of confining weapons to the state requires addressing the reasons for their existence outside the official system," noting that "Iraq needs air defense systems to protect its airspace from violations."
Khazali concluded by emphasizing that no political figure supports keeping weapons outside the state framework, reiterating that Baghdad remains committed to fostering positive relations with its Arab and Gulf neighbors.
