Iraq’s Nujaba Movement Warns against ‘US Plot’ to Integrate PMF in New Security Ministry

The Iran-aligned Nujaba Movement in Iraq warned on Saturday against an “American plot” to merge the pro-Iran Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in state institutions, presenting new Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi with his first test in imposing state monopoly over arms. It made its warning in wake of a visit to Iraq earlier this week by former US Central Command Commander David Petraeus, who also previously led US forces stationed in Iraq. The new Iraqi government appears to be a taking a tougher stance against the Iran-aligned armed factions in the country in wake of attacks launched from Iraq against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have said the attacks were launched from Iraqi territory. Zaidi has slammed the attacks as “criminal acts”. Spokesperson for the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces Sabah al-Numan said the committee probing the attacks will cooperate with Riyadh and Abu Dhabi to uncover the perpetrators. “The official statements are not up for debate: the security of our brothers is a read line and there can be no replacing the rule of law,” he said in statements carried by the official state news agency INA. Any party found responsible for the attacks will face judicial and military measures, he vowed, adding that the attacks were a “threat to Iraq’s national security and flagrant violation of its sovereignty”. On the state monopoly over arms, al-Numan said the decision “is not a mere political slogan, but a security strategy that must be implemented.” “The success of the government will be measured by how much it establishes itself as the sole party that holds power over weapons,” he stressed. Prominent armed factions, such as the Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, have not made any statements over the recent developments. The Nujaba Movement, however, has openly defied the state’s decision to impose monopoly over weapons. The party, which is seen as the most hardline, has also rejected attempts to restructure the PMF. Deputy head of the movement’s executive council Hussein al-Saeedi said: “The resistance’s weapons are not open to compromise.” “Stripping the factions of their weapons will leave society exposed to the ongoing threats,” he declared from Basra. He also slammed as an “American plot” the alleged plan to merge the PMF with the federal police and other forces as part of a new “federal security ministry”. He said such efforts are “futile” and “impossible to execute”, warning that insisting on forging ahead with the plan will have “political and popular implications.”