Inside the heavily fortified government palace in Baghdad’s Green Zone, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Zaidi meets with his team almost daily. At the top of his agenda is one of the country’s most sensitive challenges: bringing Shiite armed factions under state control or persuading them to disarm. According to multiple sources who spoke to Alhurra, Zaidi is determined not to fail in that effort—but equally determined to avoid a direct confrontation with the groups.
The young businessman-turned-prime minister, who entered office without prior political experience, relies on an advisory team that includes figures close to Tehran, others with ties to Washington, as well as specialists from various fields, the sources said.
“Zaidi does not want a confrontation with the armed factions, but they should not force him into one,” a member of the prime minister’s political team told Alhurra.
According to a senior figure in Iraq’s ruling Shiite Coordination Framework, Zaidi warned during a recent coalition meeting that he “would not stand idly by if anyone defied the state’s decisions on foreign policy, particularly regarding the American-Israeli war against Iran”—an apparent reference to Tehran-backed militias.
His efforts are aimed at restraining the factions and preventing them from becoming involved in the renewed escalation between Israel and Iran. During the previous 40-day conflict, several of these groups actively targeted U.S. interests inside Iraq and launched drone attacks against Gulf states.
Israel and Iran announced a halt to their exchange of attacks on Monday, shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump called for a ceasefire, although both sides left open the possibility of renewed hostilities.
The latest wave of attacks marked the first direct confrontation between Israel and Iran since the April ceasefire, threatening Washington’s efforts to negotiate an agreement with Tehran to end a conflict that has stretched on for more than three months.
A source in the Iraqi prime minister’s office told Alhurra that Baghdad’s accelerated diplomatic and political outreach had included leaders of major armed factions as well as groups operating under front organizations and aliases that maintain direct links to well-known militias.
According to the source, Zaidi stressed that his government rejects any military or security action that could once again drag Iraq into the regional conflict.
The government’s campaign has extended beyond political dialogue and diplomacy. Officials have explicitly warned that any armed group launching operations or military movements that could widen the war—or use Iraqi territory as a platform for exchanges between Tehran and Tel Aviv—would face strict legal and security measures.
The chief of staff to one of the Coordination Framework’s senior leaders told Alhurra that the government had focused its outreach in particular on Harakat al-Nujaba and Kataib Hezbollah in an effort to keep them out of the renewed fighting.
Both organizations are designated as terrorist groups by the United States and have repeatedly declared their support for Tehran in its confrontation with Washington and Israel.
In pursuing this delicate strategy, the prime minister has relied on close members of his cabinet who maintain strong ties with militia leaders. They are attempting to use those communication channels to persuade the factions that keeping Iraq out of the conflict is essential to avoiding fresh Israeli military strikes that could undermine domestic stability.
Zaidi and his team are operating under a strategy designed to shield Iraq from further regional turmoil while creating space to complete the formation of his government. Over the past two days, Baghdad has engaged in complex negotiations with armed groups in an effort to contain the crisis before it spirals out of control.
Information obtained by Alhurra from two politicians supporting the prime minister indicates that Zaidi has received indirect assurances from prominent Shiite figures who have communicated with the leadership of Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba. Those contacts suggest that both groups are currently inclined toward restraint and are unlikely, for now, to escalate from Iraqi territory.
Even so, government officials remain deeply cautious. A senior Coordination Framework figure acknowledged that guaranteeing the long-term behavior of these factions is difficult given their close ideological, logistical and financial ties to Iran.
For months, Washington has been pressing Iraqi authorities and the ruling Shiite alliance to take a firmer stance against Iran-aligned armed groups.
Recently, two Tehran-linked factions—Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Kataib al-Imam Ali—announced that they had transferred control of their armed brigades within the Popular Mobilization Forces to the Iraqi state, a move widely seen as reflecting those pressures.
The Popular Mobilization Forces include several Iran-aligned brigades that continue to operate with considerable independence despite being formally incorporated into Iraq’s armed forces in 2016.
The state’s greatest challenge, however, remains Harakat al-Nujaba and Kataib Hezbollah, the factions considered closest to Tehran. Both have rejected taking similar steps, insisting that any disarmament must be preceded by the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Iraq—a reference to the U.S.-led international coalition against Islamic State.
Iraqi sources told Alhurra last Tuesday that Baghdad has finalized its position, informing the armed factions that any group refusing to surrender its weapons will be treated as an “illegal terrorist organization.”
Adapted and translated from the original Arabic.
Mustafa Saadoon
Mustafa Saadoon is an Iraqi journalist who has worked for several international and Arab media organizations. He covers politics and human rights.
