US told Baghdad it will not accept ministers from armed factions, coalition leader says

BAGHDAD — Washington sent Baghdad an official notification stating that armed factions and groups with military wings should not be represented in Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s government, a leader in the Reconstruction and Development Coalition said Wednesday.

Adnan al-Danbous, speaking on Dijlah TV, said the US position was “clear and explicit,” rejecting the appointment of ministers from armed factions, the PMF or groups described as the Islamic resistance, even if those organizations disarm or are dissolved. “Even if the factions are dissolved, Washington will not accept individuals from those groups taking ministerial positions,” he said, describing the message as having been conveyed through an official notification from US President Donald Trump to the Iraqi government.

Al-Danbous said Iran-aligned factions operating under the doctrine of Wilayat al-Faqih follow a religious authority outside Iraqi jurisdiction and would not integrate into state institutions, disarm or sever organizational ties unless instructed by what he described as their highest authority, Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

His remarks came as factions staked out differing positions on the weapons handover process. Asaib Ahl al-Haq and the Imam Ali Battalions announced readiness to transfer weapons to state control and sever ties with the PMF, while Harakat al-Nujaba, Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada rejected disarmament, describing their weapons as “a trust and a duty.”

Earlier Wednesday, military spokesman Sabah al-Numan said a committee formed on al-Zaidi’s orders had begun work on implementing weapons restriction, with a full inventory to be submitted within two days and all materiel transferred to Iraqi security authorities.

The Coordination Framework on June 1 announced support for placing weapons exclusively under state control and separating the PMF from political structures, authorizing al-Zaidi as commander-in-chief to take the steps needed to implement the policy. On May 27, Muqtada al-Sadr announced that Saraya al-Salam would separate from his movement and integrate into state institutions.