Iraq Sets September 30 Deadline for Pro-Iran Militias to Disarm

Government spokesman Haidar al-Aboudi announced during a weekly press conference on June 29, 2026 that all armed factions have been formally notified of a September 30, 2026 deadline to transfer weapons to state control — the same date scheduled for the end of the US-led anti-ISIS coalition's mission in Iraq. Al-Aboudi said weapons remaining outside state authority after the deadline would face legal consequences. The announcement formalizes the disarmament push that split the PMF in late May/early June: compliant factions (Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Kataib al-Imam Ali, al-Sadr's dissolved Saraya al-Salam) had already pledged to transfer weapons, while Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba rejected the plan, calling it 'a dangerous plan' that could weaken Iraq's security the way Syria's military capacity collapsed after Assad's fall. Holdout factions are demanding guarantees against prosecution and a firm US troop withdrawal timeline before considering disarmament.