Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada spokesperson says factions funded by Iran, donations and commerce

BAGHDAD — Kadhim al-Fartousi, spokesperson for Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, has confirmed that armed factions receive funding through donations, Iranian support and commercial activities, while arguing that corruption poses a greater threat to Iraq than uncontrolled weapons in the hands of militias.

Speaking on Alawla TV, al-Fartousi said corruption was “the most dangerous scourge,” warning that it erodes professional standards in state institutions and turns public affairs into transactions of buying and selling.

“There is no weapon more dangerous than corruption,” he said.

Addressing faction financing, al-Fartousi said commercial and economic activity is open to all groups and individuals. “Armed factions receive donations and support from the Islamic Republic of Iran, and this is a known matter,” he said.

In separate remarks earlier this month, Fartousi said Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada would not surrender its weapons, describing them as “a trust and a duty,” and drew a distinction between the question of PMF integration and what he called “resistance weapons,” which he said exist to defend Iraqi sovereignty.

The comments come as the Iraqi government pursues a program to restrict weapons to state control, coinciding with U.S. pressure on Baghdad to reduce armed faction influence within state institutions and the political process.

Several factions, including Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Kataib al-Imam Ali and Saraya al-Salam, have indicated willingness to transfer heavy and medium weapons and integrate into state security institutions. Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba have publicly rejected disarmament, citing the continued presence of foreign forces and what they describe as incomplete sovereignty.