Influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Thursday blamed the continued presence of weapons outside state control for the deaths of members of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), while Ammar al-Hakim, head of the National State Forces Alliance, called for keeping Iraq out of regional conflicts following airstrikes targeting Iran-backed militia positions inside the country.
In a post on X, al-Sadr said the actions of militias and the failure to place all weapons under state control “have long been, and continue to be, responsible” for the deaths of PMF personnel and members of the security forces.
He added that militia leaders “enjoy security, comfort, and commerce,” and called for an end to what he described as “individual and irrational actions.”
Al-Sadr’s remarks came a day after he called on Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) not to launch attacks from Iraqi territory and urged armed factions not to provide Gulf states with a “pretext” to target Iraq.
Al-Sadr called on the government to maintain security, enforce sovereignty, and work seriously to protect the Iraqi people.
He also warned against exploiting sectarian divisions to undermine security and urged neighboring countries to prioritize dialogue and avoid escalation.
‘Bridge for communication’
Separately, a statement from al-Hakim’s media office said he discussed bilateral relations and regional developments with China’s new ambassador to Iraq Xiang Bo.
According to the statement, al-Hakim stressed that Iraq “seeks to be a bridge for communication between states, not an arena for settling scores.”
He underscored the importance of ties with China in the economic, industrial, and technological fields, while calling for regional de-escalation and the resolution of disputes through dialogue and mutual understanding.
The statements come amid growing criticism of Iraq’s armed factions. Political forces and public figures have linked the continued possession of weapons outside state control to repeated airstrikes on their positions, amid allegations that some PMF facilities have been used by Iraqi armed groups and Iran-linked factions, as well as the presence of Iranian advisers coordinating attacks against targets inside and outside Iraq.
Statements by the government, Ministerial Council for National Security, offices of the president and parliament speaker, and parties within the pro-Iran ruling Coordination Framework have likewise rejected the use of Iraqi territory to launch attacks against neighboring countries and reaffirmed that all weapons must remain under state control.
The government had announced the end of September as the deadline for completing the handover of factions’ weapons to the state, coinciding with the withdrawal of the remaining US forces from Iraq.
While several factions, including al-Sadr’s Saraya al-Salam, have declared their readiness to surrender their weapons, others, notably the pro-Iran Harakat al-Nujaba and Kataib Hezbollah, have rejected the move, arguing that their weapons have an “ideological” character.
