Iraq Confident in Disarming Iran-Backed Militias by June 2027 Amid Regional Security Shifts

Iraq is confident it will meet a June 30, 2027 deadline to bring weapons held by armed groups under state control, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said on Thursday, despite resistance from some powerful Iran-aligned groups.

Mr Hussein told reporters at the Iraqi embassy in Washington, one day after the US withdrew its last troops from Iraq, that his government had a clear plan to disarm and integrate the country's armed factions into the Iraqi security forces.

“We have got the target, we have got the means, we have got the timetable, and we are clear in our plan,” he said, rejecting a suggestion that disarmament could become an open-ended political process.

In response to a question from The National, Mr Hussein said: “We must reach the target, and that doesn't mean it will stay as an open end. … We hope that we will reach an agreement, and this problem will be solved.”

The Iraqi government had initially linked the deadline for bringing weapons under state control to September 30, the date of the US withdrawal, but the deadline was pushed back to June next year.

Earlier on Thursday, the powerful Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah group denied that it had reached an understanding with Iraq's Prime Minister, Ali Al Zaidi, on the disarmament of militias.

Speaking alongside Krikor Der-Hagopian, the new Iraqi ambassador to Washington, Mr Hussein said the government had been negotiating with seven armed groups and that several had already expressed support for the disarmament plan, with some factions beginning to hand weapons to security forces.

The government intends to integrate the factions into the Iraqi armed forces, putting them “under the umbrella of the Iraqi government,” Mr Hussein said, acknowledging external pressures but insisting the decision remains strictly an Iraqi one.

The issue of Iran-aligned militants operating from Iraqi soil took on renewed urgency following last month's attack on a Saudi oil pipeline, which Baghdad said originated from inside Iraq, just 13km from the Iranian border. Mr Hussein stated that an investigation is under way and that Baghdad is in contact with Riyadh.

Addressing US-Iraq ties, Mr Hussein noted that Iraq is beginning a new phase in its security relationship with the US following the formal end of the 12-year mission to defeat ISIS, expressing confidence in the capability of Iraqi forces to handle domestic threats.