🇮🇶 IRAQ AT A CROSSROADS: DISARMAMENT, SOVEREIGNTY & U.S. PRESSURE 🇺🇸
Iraq’s government is seeking more time to negotiate the disarmament of armed factions operating outside the direct control of the state.
📅 September 30 is a key date: the U.S.-led military mission in Iraq is expected to conclude, while Baghdad faces difficulties convincing major armed factions to hand over their weapons.
⚔️ Some groups linked to the so-called “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” have rejected the deadline or made disarmament conditional on the withdrawal of foreign forces and stronger guarantees for Iraqi sovereignty.
💵 At the same time, Baghdad fears that Washington could apply financial pressure, potentially involving restrictions related to the flow of U.S. dollars. However, there is no public confirmation that the United States has decided to impose such measures.
🤝 That is why Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi reportedly wants to convince Donald Trump to allow negotiations to continue beyond September 30.
🔎 At the heart of the dispute is a fundamental question: Who controls weapons and military decisions in Iraq—the Iraqi state, armed factions, or external actors with influence over them?
🌍 What happens in the coming weeks could have significant consequences for the relationship between Iraq, the United States, and Iran.
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Al-Zaidi to ask Trump to hold off sanctions
2026-09-19 07:17
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi will press US President Donald Trump to hold off on any US financial or economic sanctions on Baghdad, a senior Iraqi government source told Shafaq News on Saturday.
The appeal is tied to September 30, the date originally set by Baghdad for bringing faction weapons under state control and which also marks the scheduled end of the US-led Coalition's military mission in Iraq. Iraqi officials have since said the weapons process could continue beyond that date. “Baghdad has yet to resolve the matter, and Al-Zaidi wants more time from Washington,” the source said.
Read more: Iraq caught between US-Iran war and September 30 deadline
At the meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Al-Zaidi will assure Trump that his government will move to resolve the factions' weapons issue after September 30 and the completion of the US military withdrawal, the source added. He will also brief the US president through the government's talks with the factions over handing over their arms to the state and stress that decisions of war and peace must rest solely with Iraqi state institutions.
Behind the request is a fear that the United States could halt shipments of dollars to Iraq as early as next month if there is no progress. Iraq's oil revenues are paid in dollars into an account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, giving Washington leverage over the flow of cash to Baghdad.
Al-Zaidi last visited the United States in mid-July, leading a five-day official trip with a high-level delegation of ministers, officials, lawmakers, and business figures. The visit focused on expanding US investment in Iraq, particularly in energy, and developing alternative crude export routes.
Washington has said it supports al-Zaidi's efforts to "enforce and exercise Iraqi sovereignty" as Iraq takes a new direction under his leadership, a State Department spokesperson told Shafaq News, adding that it backs his vision of a future "free from terrorism" and of preventing attacks in and from Iraqi territory. The spokesperson declined to say whether the department is weighing financial or economic sanctions on Iraqi entities and individuals should the government fail to bring weapons under state control.
https://www.shafaq.com/en/Iraq/Al-Zaidi-to-ask-Trump-to-hold-off-sanctions