Iraq sets Sept. 21 deadline for armed factions to surrender weapons

The Iraqi government has set Sept. 21 as a final deadline for armed factions to hand over their weapons to state authorities, a government spokesman said Monday.

“Sept. 21 is the final deadline for handing over weapons, and at the same time for the withdrawal of the international coalition,” Haider al-Aboudi said in statements carried by the state news agency INA.

Separately, Aboudi said the Iraqi government approved Iran’s request to hold funeral ceremonies for late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Iraq on July 8.

On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran would coordinate with Iraq on arrangements for Khamenei’s funeral procession at Iraq’s holy shrines.

Regarding the corruption fight, Aboudi said Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi had directed the Finance Ministry to establish an account to deposit funds recovered from those involved in illicit enrichment.

The government “continues to fulfill its constitutional obligations to protect public funds and enable the state to perform its duties,” he said, adding that authorities have adopted “a comprehensive vision for managing challenges, institutional reform, and combating corruption.”

He said the latest anti-corruption sweep led to the arrest of 21 suspects, while others are still being pursued, stressing that the operation “will not stop.”

The spokesman added that confessions made by the suspects are leading investigators to other networks involving additional individuals and financial assets.

He said the current anti-corruption campaign “is unlike previous ones,” stressing that protecting public funds is a responsibility that “is not affected by individuals or circumstances.”

*Writing by Rania Abushamala in Istanbul