Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said on Thursday that Baghdad is trying to convince powerful Iraqi militias that have fought US forces and fired missiles and drones at Israel to lay down their weapons or join the official security forces.
According to Reuters, Hussein said that Iraq wants good relations with the US under incoming President Donald Trump, noting that the presence of weapons outside the control of the state is unacceptable.
Trump’s administration has pledged to put more pressure on Tehran, which has long supported several political parties and a group of armed factions in Iraq.
Hussein said the government is holding talks to rein in these groups, while continuing to maintain a balance between its relations with both Washington and Tehran. He said, “Two or three years ago it was impossible to discuss this topic in our society. But now, having armed groups functioning outside the state is not acceptable.”
On Thursday, Harakat Hezbollah Al-Nujaba in Iraq announced the suspension of its operations against the Israeli occupation after a ceasefire agreement was signed between Tel Aviv and the Palestinian resistance in Gaza, stressing that the decision was made to reinforce the deal. The Islamic Resistance Group in Iraq, an alliance of several armed factions supported by Iran, carried out dozens of attacks using drones and missiles, targeting occupation sites in Israel and the Israeli occupied Syrian Golan Heights. The occupation admitted that a number of its soldiers were killed and wounded in one of the attacks.
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