Iran’s Quds Force chief Esmail Qaani held talks in Baghdad over Iraq’s plan to disarm armed factions.
Tehran has urged factions not to hand over their weapons for now and called for a political compromise.
Iraq faces a September 30 deadline to bring weapons under state control.
Iran’s Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani travelled to Baghdad earlier this week for talks on Iraq’s push to bring all weapons under state control, as Tehran seeks to prevent a confrontation between the government and powerful Shia armed factions, an Iraqi source told Al Jazeera.
The visit comes ahead of a September 30 deadline set by the Iraqi government to restrict weapons to state institutions. While some armed groups have agreed to join the official security forces, influential factions including Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba have resisted the move, leaving Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi facing a difficult political and security challenge.
Qaani’s Baghdad meetings
Qaani, who heads the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), made the visit without prior public announcement, according to an Iraqi source from the Coordination Framework, an umbrella grouping of Shia political parties.
The source told Al Jazeera that Qaani met political and security officials and commanders of Shia paramilitary groups on Monday. The discussions focused on Baghdad’s plans to disarm armed factions and place weapons under government control.
“Tehran sent a message via Qaani … no handing over of weapons of the factions at the present time,” the source said.
According to the source, Iran believes another round of war could break out and has urged the factions and the Iraqi government to seek a political settlement rather than allow tensions to develop into an armed confrontation.
The source said Iraqi political parties also oppose using force against factions that refuse to surrender their weapons.
Baghdad’s push for state control
The dispute has become a central issue for al-Zaidi’s government as the September 30 deadline approaches. The prime minister has told parliament that Iraq is committed to a 2024 agreement with the US-led coalition, which provides for the end of its presence in Iraq as combat forces by the end of September.
Al-Zaidi also discussed the government’s push to bring weapons under state control and Baghdad’s ties with Tehran during his visit to the United States last month, his first overseas trip since becoming prime minister in May.
After meeting US President Donald Trump, al-Zaidi travelled to Tehran, where he met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
On Tuesday, the prime minister instructed parliament’s Security and Defence Committee to draw up legislation restricting weapons to the state in accordance with the constitution. He told lawmakers that weapons outside state control undermine the authority of the law and the country’s security institutions.
The government’s position has received backing from the State Administration Coalition, which brings together major Shia parties as well as Sunni and Kurdish political groups. At a meeting earlier this month, the coalition called for all weapons to be placed under state control.
It also described groups conducting security-threatening activities outside official institutions as “outlaws that must be fought” and indicated that the Anti-Terrorism Law could be applied to armed activity once the government’s deadline expires.
Factions resist, leaders seek compromise
Several armed groups have agreed to integrate into Iraq’s official security forces, but the position of Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba remains a major obstacle to the government’s plans.
At the same time, political leaders are working to prevent the dispute from turning into a confrontation. Ammar al-Hakim, head of the Hikma Movement, has been seeking to persuade the factions to accept restrictions on weapons during the remaining period before the deadline, a source told Al Jazeera.
The issue has also drawn warnings over its potential impact on Iraq’s relations with neighbouring countries.
Ghazi Faisal, head of the Iraqi Center for Strategic Studies, told Al Jazeera that factions retaining their arsenals could turn the dispute into a wider security crisis, particularly if Iraqi territory or military capabilities are used to launch attacks against neighbouring states.
He said those countries could respond directly or develop joint security arrangements aimed at countering armed groups, while any regional security arrangements focused on protecting the Gulf and strategic waterways could be forced to consider the Iraqi factions as part of the wider regional security equation.
Faisal said the way out was to establish state control over weapons and ensure that decisions on war and peace remained with Iraq’s constitutional institutions. He argued that a state unable to control the use of force cannot fully guarantee its national security.
Recent escalation adds pressure
The dispute follows a period of heightened tensions in Baghdad after armed factions threatened retaliation over Saudi-US strikes on Popular Mobilisation Forces sites late last month.
US Central Command said its forces and Saudi Arabia carried out joint attacks on July 28 against what it called “Iran-aligned terrorists”. It said the groups had been directed by the IRGC to attack US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs separately accused “Iran-backed terrorist militias” in Iraq of choosing an irresponsible course by carrying out drone attacks against Saudi Arabia.
However, efforts by the Iraqi government and political factions succeeded in containing the tensions, opening a path towards de-escalation and diplomatic movement.
With the September 30 deadline approaching, the government is seeking an agreement with the armed factions while trying to avoid a confrontation over its demand for state control of weapons.
(With inputs from Al Jazeera)
