Al-Sadr dissolves 'The Promised Day' brigade and calls for weapon monopoly... His initiative clashes with threats from 'The Cave Owners'

With the conclusion of the international coalition’s mission to combat the “Daesh” (ISIS) organization in Iraq and the official withdrawal of U.S. troops, marking the end of the 12-year “Operation Inherent Resolve,” Sadr Movement leader Muqtada al-Sadr announced on Wednesday the dissolution of the “Maw’oud Day” (Promised Day) Brigade and the transformation of the Mahdi Army into the “Ansar al-Mahdi” institution. He called for restricting weapons to state control and replacing political figures.

Al-Sadr demanded that the U.S. military provide compensation for all damages caused by its occupation of Iraqi territory, stating that “everyone should file legal complaints regarding this.”

He expressed hope that Washington would treat “Iraq, its government, and its people on the basis of reciprocal diplomatic treatment.”

In a statement, he warned that “starting today, any foreign presence, whether land-based or aerial, will face a military response from the faction,” adding that “what (U.S. Special Envoy for Syria and Iraq Tom Barrack) dreams of—removing Iraq from the axis of resistance’s battlefield—is difficult to achieve and will not happen.”

These statements came as the United States announced it had “officially concluded” its leadership role in the international coalition tasked with fighting “Daesh” in Iraq, following the withdrawal of its forces from an airbase in Erbil, in the Kurdistan Region.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Barnell said in a statement, “Today, the United States and its coalition partners officially concluded Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq, in line with the U.S.-Iraq joint statement issued in September 2024 and U.S. national interests.”

He added, “The organized withdrawal of coalition forces and equipment from Erbil Airbase marks the successful conclusion of the military mission that defeated the Islamic State in Iraq.”

Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, Haibat al-Halbousi, revealed details of American and Turkish positions regarding the next phase, affirming that Baghdad “will not allow any state to be targeted from within Iraqi territory.”

In remarks to “Al-Arabiya/Al-Hadath,” he said that U.S. President Donald Trump informed Al-Asiwi that he “would not permit any external interference in Iraq,” while noting that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his country’s readiness to cooperate with Baghdad in security and economic fields.

Baghdad and Washington had agreed in 2024 to gradually end the coalition’s mission, with forces progressively withdrawing from bases across the country, limiting their presence to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, which enjoys autonomy in the north.

The Iraqi government believes that the coalition’s withdrawal removes the pretext that powerful armed factions backed by Iran had used to retain their weapons.