The Iraqi government appeared to test how far it could push efforts to bring weapons under state control by arresting a senior al-Nujaba Movement figure, then handing him over to the security arm of the Popular Mobilization Forces — a move that may have been designed to prevent a broader clash with armed factions.
Iraq's Counter-Terrorism Service arrested Abbas Hussein al-Yaqoubi, al-Nujaba's intelligence chief and a PMF official, in the Dhi Qar province on Monday under a judicial warrant over suspected involvement in attacks targeting the US presence and interests in Iraq.
Judicial authorities have not said why al-Yaqoubi was arrested or what charges he faces.
Hours later, the PMF said it had taken custody of him. Its media official, Muhannad al-Aqabi, said al-Yaqoubi had been handed to the PMF's General Directorate of Security "to follow up on legal proceedings with the judiciary," without giving further details.
The transfer suggested that the government, after showing it was prepared to deploy state security agencies against a prominent figure in a major armed faction, chose to contain the confrontation before it escalated, particularly after threats were directed at Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi.
Local reports say al-Yaqoubi oversees security in areas of Baghdad's southern belt.
The al-Nujaba Movement is aligned with Iran and continues to reject the Iraqi government's plan to bring weapons under state control by September 30.
Government spokesperson Haider al-Aboudi said al-Yaqoubi's arrest was carried out under a judicial order and that the government would deal according to law with anyone refusing to place weapons under state authority, according to remarks carried by Iraqi media.
The message was clear: the state claims authority over arms.
Test of strength
The arrest marked the clearest test yet of al-Zaidi's attempt to enforce state control over weapons, one of Iraq's most sensitive issues.
Several armed factions are tied to powerful political forces and retain military capabilities beyond the country's traditional security institutions, making any attempt to curb their autonomy, politically and militarily, fraught.
An official in the al-Nujaba Movement called the arrest a “dangerous escalation” by al-Zaidi and said the group would announce its position within hours.
The warning came after another pro-Iran group, Kataib Hezbollah, threatened al-Zaidi, prompting Badr Organization leader Hadi al-Amiri to call for calm between the government and the “resistance factions.”
Al-Amiri warned against “hasty, ill-considered or provocative moves” and urged all sides to avoid inflammatory rhetoric and miscalculations.
Kataib Hezbollah security official Abu Mujahed al-Assaf escalated the rhetoric further on Tuesday, issuing a strongly worded warning to al-Zaidi and accusing him of “terrorizing the families of the mujahideen” through raids on homes under direct US supervision.
He set three conditions for defusing the crisis: “the complete and genuine departure of the Americans, the removal of Turkish forces from northern Iraq and the dissolution of the Peshmerga forces belonging to the Kurdistan Region.”
He described those demands as the basis for resolving what he called “the bravado of this young man” and for any future rapprochement or framework for dealing with the government.
Iraqi reports also said an extraordinary session between al-Zaidi and lawmakers on the Security and Defense Committee over legislation to bring weapons under state control was marked by objections, defenses of the factions and questions over what would happen to their weapons, fighters and families.
The reaction underscored the government's narrow room for maneuver.
Any attempt to impose a full state monopoly over weapons could quickly shift from a legal measure into a wider political and security crisis.
‘Iraq’s isolation’
Al-Aboudi said the government was trying to spare Iraq further consequences, saying the country had come close to isolation because of the weapons issue.
That may explain the government's balancing act: show that judicial orders can be enforced even against a senior figure in an armed faction, then contain the fallout before the confrontation spreads.
The timing is particularly sensitive as the international coalition's mission in Iraq approaches its end.
Al-Aboudi said the coalition was accelerating steps to conclude its mission by the end of September, while al-Zaidi was giving particular attention to strengthening Iraq's air defense capabilities.
