🇮🇶 IRAQ: ARMED FACTIONS, US COMPANIES & WEAPONS CONTROL
A major round of talks is reportedly being prepared in Baghdad involving Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi, armed faction leaders and representatives of the Shiite Coordination Framework.
🔫 The main issue: how to formally control, manage and store faction weapons as the U.S.-led Coalition’s military mission in Iraq is scheduled to end on September 30.
🇺🇸 Washington is also seeking security guarantees for more than 40 U.S. companies expected to enter Iraq and launch investment projects across several sectors. The concern is that these companies could become targets of attacks by armed factions.
🤝 The talks are expected to address:
🔐 Formal control and management of faction weapons.
⚖️ A possible legal framework regulating those weapons.
🪖 The possible integration of faction members into the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).
🏢 Security guarantees for U.S. companies investing in Iraq.
🇮🇶 The future relationship between the Iraqi state and armed factions.
📜 According to a faction representative cited by Shafaq News, several faction leaders have asked Parliament to pass legislation establishing a formal legal framework for weapons control while preserving the rights of the factions under a unified designation within the PMF.
🇮🇷 An Iranian representative is also expected to attend the talks, highlighting the broader regional dimension of the negotiations.
💡 The bigger picture: Iraq is trying to address the weapons issue while simultaneously strengthening its economic relationship with the United States. The outcome could affect Iraq’s security structure, U.S. investment, the PMF and Baghdad’s relations with both Washington and Tehran.
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#Iraq 🇮🇶 #Baghdad #IraqiPolitics #ArmedFactions #PMF #HashdAlShaabi #Disarmament #ArmsControl #USCompanies #Investment #UnitedStates #Iran #MiddleEast #Geopolitics #IraqNews
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EXCLUSIVE: Iraq faction talks to address safety of US firms
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi is expected to chair a key meeting with armed faction leaders after returning from Washington to discuss formal arrangements for controlling and managing their weapons and guarantees against attacks on more than 40 US companies expected to enter Iraq, an informed source told Shafaq News on Saturday.
The meeting will bring together a four-member committee from the ruling Shiite Coordination Framework (CF) and faction leaders reluctant to surrender their weapons, with Iran’s ambassador or a representative also expected to attend, the source said.
Washington has asked Al-Zaidi for guarantees that the US companies, which are expected to launch investment projects in several sectors, will not be targeted by armed factions, according to the source.
The talks are also expected to address the formal regulation, storage and management of faction weapons following the scheduled end of the US-led Coalition’s military mission in Iraq on September 30.
Al-Zaidi has asked CF leaders, particularly the four-member committee negotiating with the factions, to intensify talks aimed at reaching final understandings over the weapons issue, the source said.
The meeting will also discuss integrating faction members into the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) within three months. The source said faction leaders currently oppose the proposal but could reconsider their position during the negotiations.
Read more: Iraq factions resist disarmament as coalition exit nears
Abdul Rahman Al-Jazairi, a senior member of Al-Qasam Movement within former premier Nouri Al-Maliki’s State of Law Coalition, told Shafaq News that four faction leaders involved in the negotiations had asked parliament to pass legislation governing the control, management, and regulation of weapons. The factions want the legislation to provide a formal legal framework and preserve the rights of those factions under a single designation within the PMF, he explained, adding that the weapons issue had become directly linked to Iraqi-US relations rather than remaining solely a domestic matter.
https://shafaq.com/en/Iraq/Iraq-plans-factions-meeting-over-weapons-US-firms
