The Prime Minister criticizes the leaders of unruly factions... while Al-Sudani insists on restricting arms and avoiding regional confrontation
Amid these developments, the leader of the Shia Current, Moqtada al-Sadr, directed his harshest criticism at Iran-aligned armed factions, holding them responsible for the deaths of members of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and security forces, while Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s government continued to consolidate its stance rejecting the transformation of Iraq into a battleground for settling regional scores.
In a move that was the second most severe in tone, al-Sadr stated that “the brazen actions of militias” and the failure to confine weapons solely to the state were and remain the direct causes of the loss of PMF and security force fighters. He emphasized that individual and undisciplined behaviors had dragged Iraq into costly consequences, while leaders of those factions, according to him, live in a state of security, comfort, and preoccupation with trade.
He also called on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and armed factions to avoid dragging Iraq into the regional conflict, urging the government to assert state sovereignty and end the phenomenon of uncontrolled weapons, describing it as the essential prerequisite for protecting the country from sliding into a war that does not serve Iraqi interests.
In response, the Iraqi government demonstrated clear commitment to its security project despite mounting pressures. The office of Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi affirmed that Baghdad is proceeding with completing measures to confine weapons to the state and to frame all security and military activities within constitutional institutions. It stressed that managing the security file and responding to military developments are exclusive prerogatives of the government, while calling on all parties to avoid escalation and prevent pushing Iraq toward a regional confrontation, thereby preserving the country’s stability and stopping its territory from being turned into a platform for targeting neighboring countries or a arena for exchanging military messages.
In an attempt to contain the crisis’s fallout, the spokesperson for the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Sabah al-Nu’man, confirmed that Iraqi authorities had not found any evidence proving that attacks on Saudi Arabia were launched from Iraqi territory. He clarified that technical committees continue to investigate all allegations, and that no relevant party has yet provided proof to substantiate these claims. He also revealed the preparation of a comprehensive security plan to enhance the protection of Iraqi sovereignty and prevent the recurrence of any attacks, reiterating that the state will not allow any weapons outside its official institutions, nor will it accept any violation targeting its sovereignty from outside its borders.
Despite this official stance, Western diplomatic sources indicated that Baghdad preferred not to acknowledge that attacks targeting Gulf states were launched from Iraqi territory, a move aimed at avoiding an early regional confrontation. This reflects the Iraqi leadership’s awareness of the sensitivity of the current situation and the potential political and military repercussions of any official position. The sources also pointed to intensifying conflict within Iraq between a current advocating for the country’s neutrality from axis politics and another insisting on maintaining its ties with the Iranian axis, placing the al-Zaidi government facing one of its most complex tests since taking power.
As an indicator of growing coordination among Iran-aligned rogue militias, two regional officials stated that the Houthi group launched attacks on Saudi Arabia this week from Iraqi territory, in coordination with Iraqi armed factions.
The two officials, who noted that some attacks were carried out jointly from Iraqi territory by Iraqi factions and the Houthis, added that these operations were conducted under the supervision of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Following yesterday’s Saudi-US strikes, media outlets aligned with Iran mourned members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iraqi militiamen, and at least one member of the Houthi militia. Meanwhile, the Coordination Framework began examining options for political and legal escalation in response to the shelling of Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) headquarters, including considering filing a complaint with the UN Security Council and submitting a note of protest to the International Court of Justice, as domestic pressure on the government intensifies and armed factions raise the stakes in their rhetoric regarding the project to monopolize weapons.
