Caretaker PM: Limiting weapons to state shields Iraq from attacks
Shafaq News– Baghdad
Iraqi caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani on Sunday framed the government’s push to restrict weapons to state institutions as a measure to protect Iraq and eliminate “pretexts for those who wish to attack it.”
Addressing a memorial marking the sixth anniversary of the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and former Popular Mobilization Forces deputy chief Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, Al-Sudani pointed to parliament’s unanimous vote backing exclusive state control of arms, stressing that the process would remain “purely Iraqi.”
Israel, he warned, seeks to advance plans that undermine regional stability, arguing that Iraq represents the cornerstone of stability in the region.
Read more: US strategy 2026: Containment or military strike for Iraqi armed factions
Supreme Judicial Council head Faiq Zaidan, in turn, contended that the justification for weapons outside state authority ended with the defeat of terrorism in 2017, adding that a functioning state depends on the rule of law and sole control of arms by official institutions.
The remarks come amid an intensifying internal debate over weapons outside state control in late 2025. Several Iran-aligned factions, including Kataib Imam Ali, Asaib Ahl Al-Haq, Ansar Allah Al-Awfiya, and Kataib Sayyid Al-Shuhada, indicated readiness to support limiting arms to the state. Other factions, however, rejected that approach, with Kataib Hezbollah arguing that state sovereignty and security must first be ensured through the withdrawal of US, NATO, and Turkish forces, while framing armed resistance as a legitimate right.
Read more: Iraq’s armed factions and the disarmament debate: Why unity masks deep divisions
