Khazali issues veiled warning against militia disarmament amid regional tensions

BAGHDAD — Asa’ib Ahl Al-Haq leader Qais Al-Khazali on Monday delivered a defiant message against any efforts to disarm Iraq’s armed factions, warning of consequences for those who relinquish their weapons as debates over militia disarmament intensify.

“Whoever wants to hand over their weapon should prepare to have their mustache shaved,” Al-Khazali said during a speech at the movement’s central Husseini council, invoking a recent incident in Syria in which Druze men were forcibly shaved by pro-government militias — widely seen as an act of humiliation.

Al-Khazali framed his position as a defense of state-aligned arms, saying, “Weapons that support and defend the state are rightful weapons,” distinguishing them from personal arms or rogue armament. He also cited escalating tensions in Syria and the broader region as a “warning sign” of looming threats.

His remarks come amid renewed public and political debate over the status of armed groups aligned with Iran. These factions, grouped under the banner of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, include some of the country’s most powerful militias, many of which maintain close ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

In April, Reuters reported that several Iran-aligned groups were signaling a willingness to disarm under U.S. and domestic pressure. The report, which cited unnamed militia commanders and Iraqi officials, was promptly denied by Kataib Hezbollah, one of Iraq’s most prominent Shia factions, which called the claims “false” and “fabricated.”

Excerpts from Al-Khazali’s speech:

We are in the right and we are victorious. The weapon that supports and defends the state is a rightful weapon, not a personal one. The conditions surrounding the region and what is happening in Syria are a warning sign to anyone with a trace of reason.

Of course, we stand with the state, and God willing, the day will come when the state possesses its sovereign decision and the weapon with which it defends its sovereignty. But for now, the situation is dangerous.

I say it: whoever wants to hand over their weapon should prepare to have their mustache shaved. As the saying goes, “If your neighbor’s beard is shaved, wet your own and get ready.”

There are thugs everywhere, without the slightest drop of conscience or humanity, driven only by sectarian hatred.

They try to conceal it, but the truth is revealed. These people are the descendants of the Umayyads. This is the reality. They don’t say, “We are Muslims,” but rather, “We are the Umayyads.”

It is the same doctrine, the same clothes and appearance, the same beard, the same culture, and the same ideology. But now they have taken off their old uniform and put on the uniforms of the Syrian army and internal security. From various nationalities, they are killing their own people. This is the struggle of truth against falsehood. We are defending ourselves and our dignity.