As US withdraws from Iraq, Baghdad orders bill to place weapons under state control
The push to consolidate weapons under state authority is part of a wider government campaign to strengthen security institutions and preserve internal stability amid regional tensions.
Iraq’s Prime Minister, Ali al-Zaidi, has directed officials to draft legislation confining weapons to the state, as Baghdad pushes forward with a long-running effort to rein in armed factions operating outside government authority.
Ali al-Zaidi issued the instructions during a meeting in Baghdad with Khalid al-Obeidi, head of the Iraqi parliament’s Security and Defense Committee, according to a statement from the premier’s office carried by the Iraqi News Agency.
Iraqi security personnel patrol along a street in Baghdad on June 28, 2026. (AFP Photo)
Iraqi security personnel patrol along a street in Baghdad on June 28, 2026. (AFP Photo)
Meeting addressed security coordination
The two officials discussed the broader security situation in the country, including efforts by various branches of the security services to maintain stability and protect Iraq’s borders and airspace from threats.
Al-Zaidi also called for closer coordination between the executive and legislative branches, saying such cooperation would help bolster stability and support the government’s development plans.
Weapons held outside state control remain one of the most contentious security and political issues in Iraq, where numerous armed factions operate, including some aligned with the Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella of mostly Shia militias formally incorporated into Iraq’s security apparatus in 2016, and others acting independently.
The push to consolidate weapons under state authority is part of a wider government campaign to strengthen security institutions and preserve internal stability amid regional tensions.
The move builds on earlier steps. On June 3, Sabah al-Numan, spokesman for the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, announced that a committee had been formed and had begun work on confining weapons to the state.
Government spokesman Haider al-Aboudi said Monday that discussions were continuing to resolve obstacles to the plan. “The state is proceeding with its monopoly on the use of force according to the established timeline by the end of September,” al-Aboudi said.
The push for state control over weapons comes as security incidents continue to occur in parts of the country. Earlier Tuesday, three Iraqi soldiers were wounded when an improvised explosive device detonated near an army vehicle south of Kirkuk, in northern Iraq, the Iraqi News Agency reported.
