Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades denies claims it will disarm

The Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades denied allegations that it was set to disarm and strongly dismissed reports that cited senior Iraqi officials who claimed its armed allies were planning to lay down their weapons to avert US strikes.

In a statement distributed to local Iraqi media on Monday evening, the group insisted that assertions made on its behalf "have nothing whatsoever to do with our principles or positions," adding that the only authorised spokespersons are Mohammed Mohi and military spokesman Jaafar Al-Husseini; any other attributions were labelled "lies and fabrications."

Reuters reported on 7 April that information from ten senior Iraqi figures, including six local commanders from groups such as the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades, Al-Nujaba Brigades, the Said Al-Shuhada Brigades and the Loyal Ansar Allah Movement, indicated that plans to disarm were a calculated effort to stave off war, with the six commanders—interviewed on condition of anonymity in Baghdad and a southern province—coming from Kataib Hezbollah, Nujabaa, Kataib Sayyed al-Shuhada and Ansarullah al-Awfiyaa groups.

"Trump is ready to take the war with us to worse levels, we know that, and we want to avoid such a bad scenario," a commander from Kataib Hezbollah has told the news agency. 

Iranian officials in Iraq have recently maintained that dissolving the pro-Iran militias is a key point in US President Donald Trump's letter to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

A political observer specialising in Iraq and Iran affairs responded to a question about whether pro-Iran Iraqi militias would eventually disarm under US pressure, telling The New Arab on condition of anonymity, "Absolutely, or they will suffer the same fate as Hezbollah and Hamas."

Trump, during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday, announced that the US would engage in direct negotiations with Iran on Saturday, with Israel also taking part in the discussions; however, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi later stated on X that "Iran and the United States will meet in Oman on Saturday for indirect high-level talks."

Alaa Al-Haidari, an Iraqi lawmaker from the Sadqoon bloc—the political wing of the pro-Iran Asaib Ahl al-Haq group—attacked the Baghdad government on social media, arguing that such disarmament would effectively result in "disarming the backbone of the state" and warned that a government relinquishing its military might in pursuit of hollow promises of peace would soon suffer "humiliation, loss of dignity and territorial setbacks."

Iraqi political expert Ahmad Al-Nu'aimi told Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed—the Arabic-language sister outlet for The New Arab—that the prospect of immediate disarmament was "illogical" given the complex realities on the ground. He explained that any move to disarm would amount to dismantling the armed factions and emphasised the importance of retaining specialised weaponry, such as drones and rockets, as well as ensuring the defence of key border areas.

The militias in question form part of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella body comprising about 10 hardline Shia armed factions that collectively command roughly 50,000 fighters and an arsenal including long-range missiles and anti-aircraft systems, according to two security officials monitoring militia activities.

The resistance group—a cornerstone of Iran's regional network of proxy forces—has claimed responsibility for numerous missile and drone attacks on Israel and US forces in Iraq and Syria since the Gaza conflict erupted approximately 18 months ago.

Farhad Alaaeldin, the prime minister's foreign affairs adviser, told Reuters that the government remains committed to ensuring all weaponry in Iraq falls under state control through "constructive dialogue with various national actors."