Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaydi confirmed today, Friday, the resolution of the issue of restricting weapons to the state and completing the agreements related to foreign presence in the country.
Al-Zaydi stated in a televised meeting followed by the News Video Agency that the government has completed the weapons file with three factions and is negotiating to finalize it with four others, confirming that by June 30, 2027, there will be no weapons outside the state's control and that the decision to restrict weapons to the state is a final and irrevocable decision.
He added that Iraq is a state that has factions, not factions that possess a state, indicating that soon Iraq will be free of factions and weapons will be in the hands of security forces. He also noted that the absence of foreign forces means the absence of justifications for carrying weapons, emphasizing that there are no American soldiers in Iraq, not even in an advisory capacity.
He continued that there are agreements for the departure of Turkish forces and the handover of the Bashiqa base to the Iraqi army, in addition to an agreement with the Peshmerga forces to hand over Mount Sinjar and integrate its members into the Popular Mobilization Forces, stressing that Iraq will not participate in any war and will remain a meeting point between the parties.
He pointed out that "the regional crisis must end with an agreement, no matter how many scenarios arise," emphasizing that "closing the Iraqi-Iranian borders is not in the interest of Iraq or Iran, as it means we are economically besieging ourselves."
Al-Zaydi confirmed that "our policy is to have a special relationship between Iraq and the Gulf states."