Iraq puts a gun on the table: Iranian militias given a final deadline

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi issued an ultimatum to Iranian militias to surrender their weapons by September 30, and is preparing for a confrontation with those who refuse. Meanwhile, Baghdad is in talks with the Revolutionary Guards to restrain the militias. The date was chosen to coincide with the end of the international coalition's mandate against ISIS. The developments come under heavy American pressure on Baghdad.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has issued an ultimatum to the Iranian-backed militias operating in the country: surrender their weapons to the state by September 30. Two Iraqi political sources confirmed that al-Zaidi informed senior leadership that he is preparing for a scenario of confrontation and direct clash with those militias that refuse to cooperate and insist on keeping their weapons even after the deadline expires. In parallel, Baghdad is conducting talks with the Revolutionary Guards to restrain the militias. The choice of the date, September 30, is not coincidental: it coincides with the end of the mandate of the Washington-led international coalition against ISIS, a military presence that until now served as a central excuse for some armed factions to justify their continued possession of weapons. The developments come under heavy American pressure on Baghdad to restrain the militias loyal to Tehran, and this promise has been a cornerstone of al-Zaidi's policy since he took office in mid-May. Since 2003, Iraq has been torn in an attempt to maintain a balance between Washington and Tehran. Tensions reached a boiling point since the outbreak of the war in the Middle East in late February following the American-Israeli attack on Iran. According to reports, since the beginning of the conflict, the Kurdistan region has suffered over a thousand attacks, ranging from attacks by Iraqi factions against American interests to direct bombings by Iran on targets of the Kurdish-Iranian opposition. The militias tried to strike American bases and expanded their hostile activity against neighboring countries.