US sets three-week deadline for Iraq to come up with plan to disarm Popular Mobilization Forces or face sanctions

WASHINGTON, D.C. / BAGHDAD —  Amid rising tensions in the region, a press report by news outlet Erem News cited an Iraqi government source revealing that the U.S. has given the government of Iraq a deadline to develop, within three weeks, an operational plan for disarming the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). Otherwise, the source stated, Iraq will face “a series of harsh sanctions.”  

According to the new report, the message was delivered by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and relayed to Iraq through American diplomats. According to the report, the U.S. is ready to help Iraq in return implement crucial steps on counter-terrorism issues. 

The government source clarified that the message included a clear warning about the sanctions, a position also conveyed by the American Chargé d’Affaires in Baghdad, Steven H. Fagin, during a meeting with an official of the Iraqi National Security Advisory. Escalating regional tensions have placed Iraq at a crossroads: either decide in favor of institutional security or face potential international punishment. 

The U.S. decision on the necessity of disarming the PMF presents complications within the Iraqi political landscape, where the military factions are linked to internal and regional power balances. Conversely, the U.S. asserts that PMF disarmament is a necessary step to strengthen state authority and its official institutions, countering the attempts of local militias to transform into resistance forces operating outside the governmental institutional framework. 

Iraq faces a real test: will it formulate a disarmament plan and restructure the state’s security apparatus, or will it continue to postpone a settlement until international sanctions escalate?