On August 12, Iraq’s Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi visited the country’s Operations Center at Air Defense Command. He was there “to gain a field assessment of the status of the air defense system, its preparations, and its missions in protecting Iraq's skies,” his office said.
Zaidi is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, and he now faces his largest test, only a few months into his new role as prime minister.
Zaidi was a relatively unknown quantity when he was appointed. He secured the support of most Iraqi factions, including the powerful Shi’ite parties that are collectively known as the Coalition Framework. He has also received support from Kurdish leadership. Zaidi has met with US President Donald Trump, and the US has backed his rise to power.
The US wants to see him rein in the Iranian-backed militias in Iraq.
This week it appeared Iraq was moving forward with a new law to disarm the militias, or at least place their weapons in the hands of the state. As such, Iraq is trying to do the same thing as Lebanon and the Board of Peace in Gaza, in terms of disarming Iranian-backed groups.
“The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces' visit to the Air Defense Command headquarters came amid preparations for the upcoming phase and follow-up on readiness across operational sectors, as part of implementing the Iraqi-American agreement stipulating the end of the international coalition forces' mission and the completion of their full withdrawal from Iraq on September 30 next, which underscores the importance of bolstering the capabilities of the Iraqi Armed Forces and air defense systems to fully assume responsibility for protecting the airspace and national sovereignty,” Iraq’s government said on August 12.
The prime minister “listened to a detailed briefing presented by the Air Defense Commander, covering the system's current status, control of operational sectors, and the strategy for developing the capabilities of our specialized units within the framework of the 2026-2031 Air Defense Capability Building Plan, which aims to establish an integrated air defense system through enhancing radar detection and surveillance capabilities, weapons systems, and command and control.”
IRGC sent representative to rally support for militias
As the Iraqi leader sat with key officials, the militias moved to respond. Iran sent Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force head Esmail Ghaani to Iraq on Monday to speak with politicians in Baghdad. Ghaani is expected to try to rally support for the militias and keep them as a thorn in Iraq’s side. He will want the September 30 date for disarmament to be postponed, or at least the legal language restricting arms to the state to be so vague that the arms stay with the militias.
Meanwhile, the Nujaba Movement, which is sanctioned as a terrorist group by the US, said “we will not hand over our weapons,” according to a report at Kurdistan24. “A spokesperson for the Iraqi militia faction rejected calls to place all arms under state control, as Baghdad pursues a new weapons law,” the report said.
Zaidi said that “we will not allow Iraqi territory or airspace to be a launchpad for any aggression against neighboring countries.” This came after militia attacks on Saudi Arabia this month. Now Saudi Arabia and Iraqi delegations are meeting. There are reports that Zaidi “insists on moving toward confronting any faction that does not relinquish its weapons after the period specified by the Iraqi government,” Al-Hurra noted.
Kurdistan region attacked over 1,000 times by Iran, Iran-backed forces
In the Kurdistan region, which has been attacked 1,000 times by Iran and Iranian-backed militias since February, there is support for Baghdad’s initiative. Kurdistan Regional President Nechirvan Barzani has said that Iran has expressed its readiness to help Iraq with the issue of restricting weapons, according to Al-Arabiya.
On August 12, Zaidi also chaired a meeting of the Ministerial Council for National Security, illustrating how serious he is about securing Iraq and coordinating defense and security issues.
It is worth noting that the Iranian-backed militias in Iraq are the product of decades of Iranian policy aimed at cultivating armed proxies beyond its borders. Their origins stretch back to the 1980s, when some Iraqi Shi’ite opposition figures fled Saddam Hussein’s regime and found sanctuary in Iran during the Iran-Iraq War.
The IRGC, particularly its Quds Force, trained and organized these exiles who would later become influential political and military leaders. Groups such as the Badr Organization emerged during this period, while others, including Kataib Hezbollah, Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, were established after the 2003 US-led invasion.
The rise of ISIS in 2014 transformed these militias. Following Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani’s fatwa calling on Iraqis to defend the country in 2014, many militia groups joined the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and fought alongside the Iraqi Security Forces and the US-led Coalition against ISIS.
Their battlefield role earned them legitimacy among many Iraqis and led to their formal incorporation into Iraq’s security structure. However, several of the most powerful factions retained independent chains of command, close relationships with Iran, and their own political and economic networks.
Since the defeat of ISIS, many of these militias have expanded their influence. They have carried out hundreds of rocket and drone attacks on US and Coalition forces, targeting diplomatic facilities, attacking the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and intimidating or kidnapping political opponents and activists. They also kidnapped an American journalist and Princeton researcher.
The United States has designated several of these organizations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations or Specially Designated Global Terrorists. These include Kataib Hezbollah, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba and, more recently, Kataib Imam Ali. Washington argues that these groups continue to receive funding, weapons, training, and guidance from Iran's IRGC-Quds Force while undermining Iraqi sovereignty and regional stability.