Iran has urged leaders of Iraq’s Coordination Framework to contain a dispute over armed factions’ weapons and avoid a confrontation with groups that may refuse to disarm after a Sept. 30 deadline set by Baghdad.
Iraq’s judiciary, meanwhile, said it would take action against anyone carrying weapons after the deadline.
Local reports cited informed sources as saying Tehran had called for negotiations with the factions rather than confrontation. The proposed talks would cover which weapons could be surrendered, how they would be handed over, and what the factions might receive in return.
Committees could also be formed to manage the process and prevent a direct confrontation with the government or the United States.
The move comes as Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s government pushes ahead with a plan to place all weapons under state control.
Baghdad has tied the end of September to the conclusion of the US-led international coalition’s military mission against ISIS and the start of a new phase in bilateral security relations.
National Security Adviser Qassem al-Araji said this week that the coalition’s mission would end on Sept. 30. Dialogue with the factions over restricting weapons could begin afterward, he said, in an apparent effort to ease tensions over the deadline.
An informed source said a senior Iranian official briefly attended a recent Coordination Framework meeting and delivered messages on how to handle the coming political and security developments.
The messages also addressed the communication channel between the Framework and Tehran.
The reports identified the official as Mohsen Qomi, a representative of Iran’s supreme leader. Qomi attended part of the meeting in Baghdad during a visit that the source said was also intended to formally introduce his role to the Iraqi government and political and religious leaders.
The source said Qomi left shortly afterward and did not take part in all the discussions.
Qomi also met Coordination Framework leaders in Baghdad, including Iraqi Islamic Supreme Council President Humam Hamoudi and al-Zaidi.
The meeting, held at Hamoudi’s office, covered issues of mutual interest, according to the Iraqi News Agency.
The reports said Qomi told Framework leaders that Hamoudi had been designated as a channel of communication between Iran and Iraq. The move would organize political contacts with Tehran as pressure mounts on Iran-aligned armed factions.
The reports attributed the delay in Qomi’s visit to security conditions in Iran. His arrival coincided with growing debate in Iraq over the future of armed groups after the coalition’s mission ends.
Ghalib al-Daami, a professor of media studies at Mustansiriyah University, said the Coordination Framework forces understood the risks of confronting the United States over the weapons issue.
But they also did not want disarmament to be carried out quickly or fully if that would strengthen the government and the prime minister, he said.
Daami said Shi’ite forces could seek a formula that partly meets US demands without handing the government a major political victory. In his view, those forces generally prefer to keep the prime minister’s success within limits they can control.
Washington says ending the coalition’s military mission does not mean abandoning its security relationship with Baghdad. Instead, the relationship will shift to a bilateral defense partnership.
The United States and Iraq agreed in 2024 on a timetable to end the coalition’s military mission in Iraq by September.
The deadline has brought growing pressure on Iran-backed armed groups to surrender their weapons or fully integrate into state institutions.
Iraqi officials say some factions are resisting the move, making the issue one of the most sensitive tests facing al-Zaidi’s government as the coalition mission draws to a close.
International coalition withdrawal
In the Kurdistan Region, German forces serving with the international coalition ended their military and advisory duties this week, another step in the coalition’s gradual withdrawal.
An official ceremony was held on Tuesday at Camp Stephan at Erbil International Airport.
Officials from the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Peshmerga Ministry attended, along with representatives of the German Defense Ministry.
The Peshmerga Ministry said the German advisers and trainers had completed their mission after years of working with Peshmerga forces in the fight against ISIS.
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani told a member of the German parliament that the region valued Germany’s support during the war against terrorism.
He highlighted the assistance Germany provided while Peshmerga forces were fighting and the region was receiving large numbers of displaced people.
The German withdrawal comes as US troops and the remaining coalition forces finalize plans to leave Iraq.
The United States and Iraq agreed in 2024 to end the coalition’s military mission and move to a bilateral security partnership. Cooperation against ISIS will continue under the new arrangements.
Separately, Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council President Faeq Zidan met with Joshua Harris, chargé d’affaires at the US Embassy in Baghdad, on Wednesday.
They discussed judicial measures against individuals and groups carrying weapons in violation of the Constitution and the law.
The meeting signaled a growing focus on the judiciary’s role as the end of the coalition’s military mission approaches.
The Supreme Judicial Council said the talks covered measures the judiciary would take after the mission ends on Sept. 30. They also discussed how to enforce the rule of law equally.
The meeting followed Zidan’s visit to Iran, where he met several senior officials.
They included Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, President Masoud Pezeshkian, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Supreme National Security Council Secretary-General Mohsen Rezaei, according to statements from Iraq’s judiciary.
After meeting Zidan in Tehran, Rezaei said the countries of the region would determine their own future and that the US would have no place there.
He said Iran wanted “an independent and strong Iraq.”
Rezaei also called for resolving the status of groups opposed to Iran that are based along the two countries’ border, a reference to Iranian Kurdish parties in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region.
