Iraq plans to gradually bring weapons held by armed groups under state control after the international coalition’s scheduled departure on September 30. National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji announced the plan in an interview with the Iraqi News Agency on Sunday, describing it as a strategic Iraqi decision. He said Baghdad would pursue the process through dialogue rather than conflict.

Al-Araji said the government is working seriously to sever links between political parties and brigades of the Popular Mobilization Forces, or PMF, and that ongoing discussions have produced positive results. He said the weapons of armed groups would become part of state power and would not be handed to any external party. He added that all political forces agree that only the state has the right to decide questions of war and peace.

Several armed groups close to Iran oppose the initiative. Kataib Hezbollah has linked disarmament to the departure of US and other foreign troops from Iraq, while also demanding Turkish troop withdrawal from northern Iraq and the dissolution of Kurdish Peshmerga forces. Al-Araji called conflict a red line and said Baghdad would guarantee PMF fighters’ rights.