Iraqi Shia factions seek to 'lobby Trump' in bid to keep arms

Iraqi Shia political forces are reportedly considering a lobbying campaign in Washington aimed at persuading the Trump administration to accept Iran-aligned armed factions retaining their weapons, as Baghdad's push for militia disarmament increasingly shifts towards regulating their arsenals.

The initiative would seek to convince US officials that the factions could retain their weapons while operating within restrictions agreed with the Iraqi government, according to a report published by Iraqi newspaper Al-Mada on Sunday.

Citing an Iraqi political source, the newspaper said Shia political actors were seeking the assistance of former US officials and political figures with connections in Washington to communicate the proposal to the Trump administration and US military establishment.

The source suggested the initiative was being pursued with Iranian backing, though this has not been independently confirmed.

The reported lobbying effort comes as factions and their political allies appear increasingly confident that they will not be required to fully disarm.

A source within Iraq's ruling Shia Coordination Framework told Al-Mada that armed factions could retain their weapons throughout the current government's four-year term.

The source said pressure on the factions had diminished compared with a month earlier, with Iran-aligned groups increasingly confident that they would be able to resist demands for complete disarmament.

The reports mark the latest indication that Baghdad's efforts to establish a state monopoly over weapons are shifting away from the prospect of dismantling factional arsenals towards regulating what weapons the groups can possess.

Former Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki said last week that negotiations were no longer using the term "disarmament", describing the issue instead as one of regulating or containing weapons.

Maliki, one of the most influential figures in the Coordination Framework, said a joint committee negotiating with armed groups was discussing distinctions between heavy, medium and light weapons.

The talks could result in weapons capable of striking targets inside or outside Iraq being brought under state control while factions retain other categories of arms.

Maliki also indicated that the armed factions themselves would continue to exist.

Supporters of Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) and allied armed factions have also long pointed to their role in the fight against the Islamic State group as justification for preserving their military structures. That legacy could provide part of the political case for allowing some factions to remain armed under tighter state regulation.

The apparent shift follows months of pressure on Baghdad to bring weapons outside the formal security establishment under government control.

The government had previously set 30 September as a deadline for resolving the issue.

Government spokesman Haider al-Aboudi said in June that armed groups had been informed that the date represented "the end of this issue", warning that weapons remaining outside the state framework afterwards would be dealt with under Iraqi law.

However, the government subsequently softened its position, with al-Aboudi later saying that 30 September referred to the withdrawal of the US-led coalition rather than a final deadline for factions to surrender their weapons.

Negotiations have since focused on reaching an accommodation with powerful armed groups, many of which operate formally within or alongside Iraq's PMF while retaining independent command structures and close relationships with Iran.

Al-Mada reported that discussions include the possibility of using amendments to legislation governing the PMF as part of an agreement with the factions.

The proposed compromise would seek to strengthen government oversight while avoiding a confrontation with groups that have rejected demands to surrender their arsenals.

Some factions remain firmly opposed to disarmament.

Harakat al-Nujaba political bureau chief Ali al-Asadi said last week that the group's "resistance weapons" were sacrosanct and would not be surrendered.

Al-Nujaba has also rejected integration into conventional parliamentary politics, distinguishing it from factions that combine armed wings with political representation inside the Iraqi state.