Iraq drafts a plan to disarm all armed groups by June 2027

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein announced that Iraq’s government has drafted a plan to disarm all armed groups in the country by June 2027, according to Al Jazeera, which cites Iraq’s official news agency.

According to the Foreign Ministry’s statement, the draft will be presented in the coming days with concrete implementation deadlines, and the prime minister has set June of next year as the deadline for completing the disarmament process. The push for disarmament comes mainly from pressure by the United States, amid regional tensions involving Iran, economic challenges and the urgent need to attract foreign investment.

The move comes just days after the Iraqi paramilitary group Kataib Hezbollah, which operates under the umbrella of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq coalition of pro-Iranian factions, announced the suspension of its military activities in Iraq — but insisted that “the Resistance’s weapons will remain in the fighters’ hands”. The move also coincides with the official end of the international coalition’s mission against ISIS in Iraq and the Iraqi government’s full assumption of responsibility for security, celebrated in Baghdad on September 30.