A senior adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi has denied that a deadline has been set for the committee tasked with bringing weapons under state control, throwing into question a looming September 30 deadline for Iran-backed groups to disarm.
A committee was established by the Co-ordination Framework, an umbrella group of Iran-backed political parties and militias, to bring weapons outside state control into the government's hands after Mr Al Zaidi's pledge in May.
Mr Al Zaidi, who oversees the committee, designated September 30 as the deadline for militia groups, mostly linked to Iran, to disarm. The date was tied to the deadline given to US-led coalition forces to complete their withdrawal from Iraq, including from the Kurdistan region.
“Recent reports circulating on social media regarding a set timeframe for the work of the committee on bringing weapons under state control are completely incorrect," Qasim Al Araji, a former national security adviser, was reported as saying by Iraqi state media. "There is no specific deadline for completing the mission."
Mr Al Araji said that once all weapons are under state control, anyone who illegally posses any firearm will be “treated as a terrorist". But he did not provide an expected timeframe for the completion of the process.
Late last month, Mr Al Araji had said that the September 30 deadline applied only to US forces to leave Iraq and not for the handover of weapons.
The Co-ordination Framework formed the committee in co-operation with the government to oversee the process of restricting weapons to the state, after Iran reportedly asked the ruling bloc to negotiate with the Iraqi government on behalf of the armed factions.
An Iraqi official close to Mr Al Zaidi told The National that the Iran-backed militias have not demonstrated their intent to surrender weapons. "There is significant resistance from militia groups regarding disarmament, complicating the withdrawal process and Iraq’s internal security landscape," he said.
Due to regional tension escalated by the Iran war, Iraqi authorities "have said that militias perceive an ongoing threat, leading to their refusal to disarm on September 30", he added.
The militias, with Iranian financial and military support, have become formidable forces that can rival the national army in firepower. They are also deeply enmeshed in Iraq's political, economic and social fabric, building business networks and winning seats in parliament and the government.
The official said there was also division among certain groups over which state's control the arms should be brought under, with some believing they should be returned to Iran. "Some of the militias claim that their arms originated from Iran and argue weapons must be returned there rather than to the Iraqi state," he said.
Two prominent pro-Tehran armed groups, Asaib Ahl Al Haq and Kataib Imam Ali, alongside cleric Moqtada Al Sadr’s Saraya Al Salam faction, claim they have placed their weapons under state authority. But hardline factions – mainly Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba – have said they will not disarm until foreign troops leave.
Senior Shiite politician Nouri Al Maliki told local TV last month that there would be no disarmament, but “organising and containing the weapons, and we are discussing this as well as what kind of weapons will be covered”. He did not provide further details.
Since Mr Al Zaidi took office in May, he has come under mounting pressure from regional countries and the international community, mainly the US, to disarm militias.
