Hours after their meeting with Qaani, a “private meeting” took place between al-Zaydi and leaders within the framework.
An informed political source reported on Tuesday that the leaders of the Coordination Framework held a “private meeting” with Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi following a meeting with the commander of the Quds Force in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, General Ismail Qaani.
The source told Shafaq News Agency that the meeting is currently being held at Al-Zaydi’s government headquarters, without providing further details.
The meeting came after a meeting held in Baghdad by the commander of the Quds Force in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Ismail Qaani, with leaders of the coordination framework on one hand, and leaders of armed factions on the other.
According to information obtained by Shafaq News Agency, Qaani drew a red line regarding the handover of weapons by Iraqi factions to the state, and stressed the need to avoid armed confrontation with security forces, before returning to Tehran.
A private source told Shafaq News Agency that Qaani stressed the need to exert political pressure on the government in order to reach a settlement formula that would prevent the handover of weapons at the present time, thus preventing the outbreak of conflict between the state and the factions.
Qaani’s move comes at a time when the Iraqi government is pushing to restrict weapons to the state, while these efforts are facing opposition from armed factions that see handing over their arsenal in the current circumstances as a threat to their political and security position.
The issue of armed factions is one of the most sensitive issues facing the Iraqi government, with the approach of September 30, which the main political forces have set as the deadline for restricting weapons to official institutions.
The State Administration Coalition, which includes the most prominent Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish political forces, stressed during its meeting on August 5 the need to restrict weapons to the state, and considered the parties that carry out activities that threaten the security of the country outside the framework of official institutions as “outlaws and must be fought.”
The coalition warned that any armed activity outside the framework of the state after September 30 would be dealt with according to the anti-terrorism law.
Following this, Iraqi security and military forces raised their readiness level throughout the country, and the leave of a number of commanders and officers was cancelled, while security agencies began implementing field movements and exercises in anticipation of any emergency or friction that might develop into an armed confrontation.
Last week, Baghdad witnessed hours of security tension coinciding with threats by armed factions to retaliate against Saudi Arabia after strikes targeted Popular Mobilization Forces sites, before it ended with contacts and a dawn meeting between Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zubaidi and Badr Organization leader Hadi al-Amiri, which led to a mutual calming and opened the way for diplomatic action to address the crisis.
Al-Amiri later called on the “Islamic Resistance” factions to postpone any military response against Saudi Arabia and to prioritize “Iraq’s higher interest,” but he returned and stressed during a meeting with a number of Popular Mobilization Forces leaders the importance of maintaining a high level of readiness.
The plan to restrict weapons does not have a unified position among the armed factions. While some forces have expressed a willingness to reorganize their military and security relationship with the state, other factions, including Kataib Hezbollah, Harakat al-Nujaba and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, have announced their refusal to give up their military capabilities, and have linked any discussion about their weapons to the end of the presence of foreign forces and ensuring the protection of Iraq from external attacks.
The upcoming September 30th date also coincides with the deadlines related to ending the military presence of the international coalition in Iraq, which some factions use as a basis for linking the future of their weapons to the withdrawal of foreign forces.
Shafaq.com