Lawmaker: factions agree to disarm for cabinet entry but Kataib Hezbollah and Nujaba refuse

BAGHDAD — Most armed factions have agreed to disarm as a condition for participating in the next government, while negotiations are continuing with Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada and two groups have refused outright, a Hikma Movement lawmaker said Wednesday.

Ali al-Moussawi said Harakat al-Nujaba and Kataib Hezbollah rejected disarmament because they were not seeking to participate in the government. “The American condition is clear and explicit: whoever hands over their weapons participates in the government, and whoever does not hand them over will not participate,” he said in a televised interview.

Hussein al-Sheihani, a member of the political bureau of the Sadiqoun Movement, said there is a U.S. veto on the participation of Asaib Ahl al-Haq in Zaidi’s government. He said U.S. pressure is “a reality that exists and cannot be denied,” and that six ministries had not yet been approved as part of the cabinet ahead of a parliamentary confidence vote scheduled for Thursday.

Muqtada al-Sadr called Friday on Zaidi to reorganize armed factions under state-controlled structures and exclude parties with armed wings from the next cabinet, saying those who refuse “should be considered outside the law.” Former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi separately advised Zaidi against direct confrontation with factions, urging political dialogue and diplomatic mechanisms instead.

Iraq’s armed factions, many operating under the Popular Mobilization Forces umbrella, emerged after 2014 during the fight against Islamic State. The PMF was formally incorporated into Iraq’s state security structure under a 2016 law, with factions receiving state salaries. Several groups maintain close ties to Iran and have been accused by the United States and Iraqi political opponents of acting outside government control.

Since the regional war began in late February, Iran-aligned factions under the Islamic Resistance in Iraq umbrella have carried out repeated drone, rocket and missile attacks on U.S. military and diplomatic targets in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Region. The United States has simultaneously struck PMF-linked positions across multiple governorates, killing dozens of fighters.