Foreign minister calls for government to publish weapons handover plan

BAGHDAD — Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein has called on the government to publicly disclose its plan for restricting weapons to state control, warning that transparency is needed to build confidence inside Iraq and among regional and international partners.

Speaking on Sharqiya TV, Hussein said Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi is personally leading negotiations with armed factions on the issue and questioned the logic of groups that hold weapons outside state authority while simultaneously participating in politics. “The factions now have parties, political wings and members in parliament. Some participated in the government and others want to participate,” he said. “So the question here is: if you are part of the government or want to participate in the government, how can you carry weapons outside the framework of the state?”

Hussein said Sadr’s decision to place Saraya al-Salam under state authority had helped advance the initiative, which has since seen Asaib Ahl al-Haq and the Imam Ali Battalions announce similar measures. On June 7, Lt. Gen. Qais al-Muhammadawi, head of the Higher Committee for Restricting Weapons to State Control, said heavy and medium-heavy weapons from participating factions, including tanks, artillery, missiles and drones, would be transferred to state storage before redistribution to the army. Kataib Hezbollah, Harakat al-Nujaba and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada have rejected disarmament.

Calling for greater clarity, Hussein said: “I hope the government has a plan for how weapons will be handed over, when, what type of weapons should be handed over, and to whom they should be handed over. This plan must be revealed so the world can trust us.”

On the economy, Hussein said Iraq’s biggest challenge remains the financial situation, describing the regional war as having “three victims: human beings, the Iraqi economy and foreign relations,” and warning again that continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz would put Iraq “in great difficulty in paying employee salaries next month.”

Hussein also said al-Zaidi’s first foreign trip as prime minister would be to the United States following an invitation from President Donald Trump, which he said he hoped would take place “at the beginning of next month.” He added that the current U.S. administration’s tendency to view Iraq as “part of the Iranian arena” was “a mistaken view” that should be addressed in discussions with Washington.