On Thursday, Prime Minister Ali al‑Zaidi told a press conference that every Iran‑backed militia operating in Iraq must relinquish its arsenal to the state by June 30, 2027, extending the original September 30 deadline to give factions time for compliance. The announcement came two days after the U.S.‑led anti‑jihadist coalition formally ended its 10‑year mission in Iraq on May 31, 2024, a withdrawal that many analysts say will remove the pretext for militias to keep their weapons.
The Iraqi government argues that the absence of foreign troops removes the excuse militias have used to hoard arms, but the move has been met with skepticism. Kataeb Hezbollah’s Jaafar al‑Husseini said the group had been in talks to "regulate" its weaponry but had not received a response from the state, and the Islamic Resistance declared it was "not bound by any timetable or agreement".
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards hailed the exit as a "historic victory" and urged the U.S. to leave the Middle East entirely, while calling the Iraqi state "proud" for its newfound sovereignty. In a sharp turn, Kataeb Hezbollah warned that any government failing to act for the people’s benefit would be "brought down by all possible means," a threat that echoes the faction’s history of drone attacks and missile strikes against U.S. forces.
With several factions still refusing to disarm, the Iraqi council will convene an emergency session next week to decide enforcement mechanisms, a move that could either cement state control over arms or trigger a new wave of violence as militias seek to secure their positions.