Coordination Framework drafting weapons regulation plan, Asaib official says

BAGHDAD — The Coordination Framework is preparing a draft decision to regulate the restriction of weapons to state control, address the presence of foreign forces in Iraq and strengthen security forces, including air defense systems, according to a senior official from Asaib Ahl al-Haq’s political wing.

Hussein al-Sheihani, a member of the political bureau of the al-Sadiqoun Movement, told state-run Al Iraqiya News that current efforts on weapons control are consistent with positions Asaib Ahl al-Haq secretary-general Qais al-Khazali has advocated since 2017, when the movement separated its political and armed wings. “What is happening now in the weapons control file is consistent with what we have demanded since 2017 in a clear and detailed manner and by its proper names,” he said.

Al-Sheihani said weapons have remained in storage since 2017 and the movement had repeatedly called for an inventory. “They used to tell us that there was no legal basis to rely on for inventorying these weapons and entering them into state records,” he said. He added that the draft decision also addresses the foreign military presence in Iraq and the enhancement of security force capabilities, including air defense. “I have reviewed the draft of this decision, which was amended in accordance with a national decision, and we are moving toward the legal regulation of weapons that we have called for since 2017,” he said.

The remarks come as Iraq faces renewed debate over restricting weapons to state control, driven by US pressure on Baghdad to strengthen state authority over armed groups and growing discussion among major Shiite political forces. Last week, Muqtada al-Sadr announced that Saraya al-Salam, the armed faction affiliated with his movement, would integrate under the authority of the Iraqi state and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, expressing hope that other PMF factions would “separate themselves from partisan and sectarian orders.” Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi welcomed the move as “an important step” toward consolidating state authority over weapons.

Not all factions have endorsed such steps. Kataib Hezbollah has repeatedly rejected calls to disarm, arguing its weapons are tied to Iraq’s security and the presence of foreign forces, and has said it will not discuss relinquishing weapons until foreign forces leave Iraq. Other Iran-aligned factions have similarly linked any future disarmament process to broader arrangements on foreign military forces and Iraq’s security framework.