Iraq can only disarm militias once US troops leave the country, PM says

Iraq will only be able to disarm its militias after US troops leave the country, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani told Reuters in an interview.

Sudani’s comments come a week before Iraq hosts highly anticipated parliamentary elections next week.

Sudani is balancing between Washington, which is critical for Iraq’s dollar transactions, and neighbouring Iran, which backs a constellation of mainly Shia militias called the Popular Mobilization Forces.

Sudani is courting public support ahead of elections as he seeks a second term in office.

“There is no ISIS. Security and stability? Thank God it's there ... so give me the excuse for the presence of 86 states,” he told Reuters in an interview in Baghdad, referring to the number of countries that joined the US-led coalition against the Islamic State group in 2014.

"Then, for sure, there will be a clear program to end any arms outside of state institutions. This is the demand of all," he said.

US troops began withdrawing from two key Iraqi bases over the summer.

In September 2024, Reuters reported that US and Iraqi negotiators had agreed on a plan during the Biden administration to end the US military presence, which just required the sign-off of leaders in Baghdad and Washington.

According to Reuters, the plan called for all US-led coalition forces to leave Ain al-Asad air base in western Anbar province and significantly reduce their presence in Baghdad by September 2025.

Sudani said that militias could become absorbed into the state’s official security forces or their members could go into politics after laying down their arms.

Parallels in Lebanon

The proposal comes at a time when the US is finding it very difficult to disarm Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The Popular Mobilization Forces and Hezbollah belong to a loose group of militias, alongside Yemen’s Houthis, that receive funding and training from Iran. The so-called Axis of Resistance was battered by Israeli attacks following the Hamas-led 7 October attack on southern Israel.

Militias in Iraq were behind an attack on US troops in Jordan in January 2024, but mainly stood aside while the Houthis and Hezbollah attacked Israel in what they said was solidarity with besieged Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel's war on Gaza after 7 October has been termed a genocide by world leaders, the UN and human rights experts. The US brokered a fragile Gaza ceasefire in October that has been marred by Israeli violations.

The US has long been lobbying Iraq to dismantle armed groups affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces. A more overt campaign led by US envoy Tom Barrack is underway in Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah.

Hezbollah was resigned to sign a lopsided ceasefire last year that enshrined Israel’s ability to attack the group with US support. The group has endured Israeli strikes without responding.

The Lebanese army has disarmed Hezbollah in much of southern Lebanon, analysts and regional diplomats tell MEE.

The government has been trying to negotiate a transfer of Hezbollah’s heavy weaponry in the rest of the country to the army. Hezbollah has resisted this.

Speaking at a conference in Bahrain last week, Barrack said that he did not think using force to disarm Hezbollah would work, and instead said oil-rich Gulf states need to offer an economic incentive for Hezbollah fighters to turn in their arms.

Hezbollah is the largest political party in Lebanon, and its members sit in the US-backed government. Both its armed wing and a network of social services exist outside the government.

In Iraq, the Popular Mobilization Forces receive government payments. Under Sudani, the roughly 150,000 members of the Popular Mobilisation Units were allocated an additional $700m dollars in Iraq’s three-year budget released in 2023.