Iraq Recasts Sept 30 as Start of Plan to Collect 6 Million Weapons Nationwide

Deputy Interior Minister Hussein al-Awadi described Iraq's plan to collect an estimated 6 million weapons held by non-state armed factions as 'the start of a regulatory process rather than a completion point,' effectively retreating from the original hard September 30 deadline. Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba — the two hardline Tehran-aligned factions with histories of attacking US forces and Gulf states — refused to surrender what they call 'resistance weapons'; Kataib Hezbollah leader Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi vowed the group would instead 'develop them and expand its arsenal.' By contrast, Saraya al-Salam formally integrated into Iraqi security forces in a June 2026 Samarra ceremony, and Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Kataib Imam Ali have agreed to surrender or regularize their weapons. PM Zaidi said Iraq has 'no intention of using military means,' while a four-member committee including Zaidi and former PM Mohammed Shia al-Sudani develops revised mechanisms; the Trump administration has linked Iraq's compliance to its access to dollar flows.