Overview
- Gen. Esmail Qaani traveled to Baghdad on August 10 and held meetings with Coordination Framework leaders and militia commanders to convey Tehran’s opposition to forcible surrender of weapons and to press for political solutions.
- Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has directed parliament’s Security and Defence Committee to draft a law to confine weapons to the state with a target date of September 30 to align with the planned US-led coalition drawdown.
- A high-level Iraqi security delegation led by Lt. Gen. Abdul Amir al-Shammari arrived in Riyadh on August 13 to seek technical steps and intelligence cooperation with Saudi Arabia to stop drones and de-escalate after joint US‑Saudi strikes on July 28–29.
- Practical enforcement remains unclear because powerful Iran-aligned militias are embedded in state payrolls and politics, raising the real risk of standoffs, limited compliance, or negotiated delays rather than rapid disarmament.
- If Baghdad secures a negotiated settlement it could reduce cross-border attacks and protect trade and oil routes, but failure to reach agreement risks renewed confrontation that would directly affect civilians near militia bases and border communities.