Exclusive: Factions set four conditions for freezing their response to Saudi Arabia
An informed source revealed on Thursday that the armed factions have “temporarily” frozen their decision to respond to Saudi Arabia, and have put forward their demands, which include an official apology and compensation from Saudi Arabia, otherwise they will proceed with a response. Dailynews reports
The source told Shafaq News Agency that “the factions that threatened to respond to the Saudi bombing that targeted a number of Popular Mobilization Forces headquarters in some provinces have frozen their decision to respond, and have made its implementation or non-implementation contingent on the extent of Saudi Arabia’s response to the event.”
He added that “the demands of the factions include Saudi Arabia acknowledging that it made a mistake in the bombing and paying financial compensation to the families of the victims, in addition to granting compensation for the damages inflicted on public property, and calming the Saudi media discourse against the factions in general, otherwise the factions will respond.”
This afternoon, the Security Media Cell announced on Thursday that it had raised the security readiness and combat preparedness in Iraq.
The cell said in a statement received by Shafaq News Agency: “Under the direction of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, it was decided to raise the level of security readiness and combat preparedness of the security and military forces, including the implementation of training exercises and troop movements.”
She added, “This is within the framework of maintaining the high level of readiness of all security forces formations and enhancing their ability to perform their duties, which contributes to consolidating security and stability and protecting citizens and public interests.”
Regarding the position of the factions and their conditions, political researcher Ghaleb Al-Daami believes that “there is an Iraqi-Saudi rapprochement, and a genuine desire between the two countries to improve political, economic and security relations, including that Iraq should control weapons and not allow them to be directed against any Arab country.”
Al-Daami continues, during his interview with Shafaq News Agency, that “the conditions of the factions are not governmental, but rather they are from parties outside the state system and have no relation to the political system, and therefore they are not acceptable, because such matters are resolved only through the state, and Iraq has economic relations and common interests with Saudi Arabia in addition to oil and energy files, which the Prime Minister will discuss with Saudi officials during his upcoming visit.”
Prior to the official statement, a security source told Shafaq News Agency that orders had been issued by senior leaders to raise the level of readiness among the various branches of the security and military forces throughout Iraq.
The source said the orders included cancelling the leave of commanders and officers and keeping them on high alert.
She added that the precautionary measures coincide with the end of a deadline set by armed factions for the Iraqi government to take a position on Saudi Arabia, as well as preparations to carry out new arrests of those accused in corruption cases.
According to the sources, raising the level of preparedness is also linked to the decision taken by the State Administration Coalition regarding restricting weapons to official institutions and ending the activity of armed factions by September 30.
On Wednesday evening, the State Administration Coalition declared that entities engaging in behavior that threatens the country’s security outside the framework of official institutions are “outlaws and must be fought,” warning that any armed activity after September 30, 2026, will be subject to the provisions of the Counter-Terrorism Law.
On July 29, groups calling themselves the “Iraqi Resistance” announced that they had given the Iraqi government a deadline, ending this Thursday, to take action against Saudi Arabia, following accusations that it had targeted headquarters belonging to armed factions, threatening to retaliate if Baghdad did not take a stand.
Shafaq.com