Rania Abushamala
03 June 2026•Update: 03 June 2026
US Special Envoy for Syria and Iraq Tom Barrack welcomed Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi's support for integrating armed groups into state institutions and placing weapons under government control.
"We extend our congratulations to Iraqi Prime Minister @AliFalihAlzaidy on this significant step forward, which represents the nascent foundation for a renewed Iraqi self-governance — grounded in restored sovereignty, enduring stability, and the promise of national renewal," Barrack, who is also US Ambassador to Türkiye, said on the US social media company X.
He also praised Iraqi groups that have decided to relinquish their weapons to the state.
"We likewise commend those groups whose principled decision to return all weapons to the Iraqi state will contribute to the architecture of order," he said.
Barrack added that Al-Zaidi's "confidence is well-placed," describing the move as "only the beginning."
On Tuesday, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, one of Iraq’s most prominent and powerful Shia political and military forces, said it will form a committee to begin disengaging from the Popular Mobilization Forces and place its weapons under state control.
Asaib Ahl al-Haq was founded in 2006 as an armed faction that split from the Mahdi Army of the Sadrist movement led by Qais al-Khazali.
It is the second group in Iraq to announce integration into state institutions, following a similar move by Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who dissolved his “Peace Brigades” and aligned them with the state.
