By Michael Georgy and Ahmed Rasheed
DUBAI/BAGHDAD, Sept. 9 – Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi could face a serious credibility challenge if Iran-backed Shiite militias refuse his call to surrender their weapons to the state.
After meeting U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in July, Zaidi pledged to disarm the powerful groups by Sept. 30, the same date set for the withdrawal of the remaining U.S.-led international coalition forces from Iraq.
He faces determined resistance from Iran-aligned militias that have supported Tehran by attacking U.S. targets during the ongoing war in the Middle East.
Why Has Zaidi Faced Obstacles?
In 2025, several influential Iranian-backed militias in Iraq signaled for the first time that they were prepared to disarm, hoping to avert an escalation with the Trump administration.
Those pledges never materialized. Zaidi inherited the difficult task of bringing the groups under control after taking office in May. The militias answer to Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Zaidi, a wealthy businessman, has received more support from a U.S. president than many of his predecessors. However, like all Iraqi leaders, he also needs Iran’s support, whose influence has grown steadily through its ties to Shiite militias and politicians. That has forced him to proceed cautiously.
On Aug. 17, special forces reporting directly to the prime minister arrested the intelligence chief of Harakat al-Nujaba, an Iran-aligned faction designated a terrorist organization by the United States, over allegations that he helped plan drone attacks against U.S. interests. The account came from a security document reviewed by Reuters and three government sources.
The 48-hour detention prompted threats of retaliation from the group and led senior Shiite politicians to intervene and defuse the tensions.
One week later, Iraqi special forces arrested four militia members, including a local commander, over allegations that they facilitated attacks on U.S. interests. The arrests underscored the political and security challenges facing Zaidi’s disarmament campaign.
Senior Shiite politicians have warned that harsh action against the militias could make disarmament impossible and fuel further instability. They argue that the groups cannot surrender their weapons while continuing to support Tehran in its war against the United States. The militias have also previously resisted disarmament on the grounds that U.S.-led coalition forces remain in Iraq.
What Do the Militias Want?
Five Iran-aligned armed groups have flatly rejected the government’s Sept. 30 deadline requiring them to surrender their weapons, dissolve their organizations and integrate their members into state security forces, according to four Shiite political sources and three security sources familiar with the effort.
In August, Kataib Hezbollah, the strongest militia group, criticized Zaidi and set conditions for dialogue, including guarantees that American forces would never return and measures to remove U.S. influence from Iraq’s political and economic decisions.
How Powerful Are the Armed Groups?
The militias form part of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella organization of roughly 10 hardline Shiite factions with an estimated combined strength of 50,000 fighters. Their arsenals include long-range missiles and anti-aircraft weapons, according to two security officials who monitor militia activity.
The Islamic Resistance, a central pillar of Iran’s network of regional proxy forces, has claimed responsibility for dozens of missile and drone attacks on Israel and U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria in recent years.
The militias have become increasingly capable of conducting precise drone attacks. They also control business interests in construction, real estate and currency exchange.
