Overview
- Several Iran-aligned groups, including Asaib Ahl al‑Haq and Kataib Imam Ali, said they would separate from the Popular Mobilization Forces and form committees to inventory and hand over weapons, a step leaders announced between June 2 and June 3.
- Prime Minister Ali al‑Zaidi met militia delegations on June 3 and his office said a joint committee would be created to design rules for disengagement and transfers to state control.
- Powerful factions such as Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat al‑Nujaba have rejected full disarmament or signaled they will keep specialized capabilities like drones and missiles, leaving the process partial and contested.
- Practical obstacles include creating a credible weapons inventory, defining new command chains, funding fighters’ pay and benefits, and untangling militias’ deep links to state institutions and budgets.
- U.S. envoys publicly praised the initiative and Washington’s pressure is cited as a factor, but Iran’s influence and domestic political bargaining mean the pledges could either lead to a real reassertion of state control or a fragile, symbolic shift.