Iraqi armed factions evading disarmament, says political analyst

Political analyst Kifah Mahmoud said that armed factions in Iraq are circumventing disarmament efforts and are only surrendering worn-out weapons.

Speaking on Al Arabiya FM, he added that the United States will not accept any leniency in dealing with the issue of uncontrolled weapons outside state authority.

Mahmoud further explained that the current process is a manipulation of disarmament measures, noting that only two factions have handed over weapons, while other groups have surrendered unusable arms and retained heavy weaponry, which Iran either stores or seeks to acquire.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi aims to resolve the issue by ensuring that all weapons are under state control and that no faction retains arms within the country, to prevent Iraq from being implicated or neighboring states from being targeted. However, Iran supports these groups in keeping their weapons and opposes their surrender.

Al-Zaidi stated that work is underway to establish mechanisms for the handover of weapons and to ensure they are solely in the hands of the state. He ruled out the possibility of military confrontation and noted that all political forces fully agree on the need to centralize weapons under state control, with efforts ongoing to develop handover procedures.

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