The issue of weapons outside state control has returned to the center of Iraq’s political and security scene after Akram al-Kaabi, secretary-general of Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, rejected any understandings with what he called “international forces backing Israel” and reaffirmed his movement’s commitment to “force and weapons.”
His comments came as the Iraqi government presses on with efforts to confine arms to the state, despite complex political and military challenges.
Kaabi’s remarks were made in a statement issued on Tuesday after recent regional developments and the military escalation between Iran and Israel.
He praised Iran’s missile strike against Israel earlier this week, calling it “discipline for the Zionist entity,” and commended Yemen’s Houthis for also firing at Israel, saying they delivered “a surprise slap to the enemy.”
Nujaba is an Iran-aligned Iraqi armed faction and one of the main pillars of an alliance of factions calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which became directly involved in regional escalation after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Iraqi sources had said the government contacted leaders of armed factions to prevent them from joining the latest escalation, drawing on support from several factions for its plan to confine weapons to the state.
Kaabi said his movement was warning “anyone who imagines that Iraq can reach understandings with the supporters of” Israel and the United States.
“The logic of force and weapons” was the only option in dealing with them and that the movement “will never deviate from it,” he vowed.
The remarks come as debate grows in Iraq over the future of armed factions and whether all armed formations can be brought under state authority, now one of the most main issues tackled by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi's government.
The government has repeatedly said it is committed to the rule of law and to confining weapons to official institutions.
Influential cleric Moqtada al-Sadr announced on May 27 the integration of his military wing, Saraya al-Salam, into the state and called on the Popular Mobilization Forces factions to hand over their weapons. Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Kataib al-Imam Ali later also announced their separation from the PMF.
Split over mechanism
Figures close to armed factions rejected proposals to hand over weapons, saying they were driven by external pressure.
Abdul al-Rahman al-Jazairi, a leader in the PMF, said in remarks carried by local media that “the decision to confine weapons is not an individual decision,” calling for legislative authority to have a say over the “fateful” matter.
The remarks reflect the split over how to handle the armed factions file, which has grown more complicated after years in which armed groups expanded their influence, built military arsenals and secured independent funding sources.
Shakhawan Abdullah, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party bloc, cited further obstacles to any disarmament plan, saying some weapons held by factions are not directly under their control.
He said one problem was that some factions “may decide to hand over their weapons, but the weapons originally belong to a regional state that considers them its property.” He added that those states may refuse to surrender such weapons, including drones.
Abdullah said some groups could transfer weapons to other formations rather than hand them over to the state. He said about 30% of armed groups fall under the PMF, while the rest are outside its framework.
Observers say the weapons file is not only a security issue. It also intersects with the economic and political interests of armed factions that have built networks of influence and their own financial institutions in recent years, making disarmament more complicated than legislation or government decisions.
Analysts say weapons for many factions are not only a military tool, but also a guarantee of political influence and a source of economic protection. That makes any response to calls for surrendering them limited unless they are paired with broader political and security arrangements.
