Iraqi analyst says U.S. seeks to disarm resistance groups in Iraq and region
The comments came amid calls in Iraq to organize weapons held by resistance groups rather than confiscate them.
An Iraqi analyst accused the United States of seeking to disarm resistance groups in Iraq and the region. A former Iraqi lawmaker called instead for a government-led process to organize the weapons through a dedicated committee and a multiyear plan.
TEHRAN — An Iraqi political analyst has accused Washington of seeking to disarm resistance groups in Iraq and the wider region, saying U.S. pressure was aimed at advancing its interests and serving what he described as an Israeli project.
Wissam Aziz said U.S. President Donald Trump, through his envoy Tom Barrack and other political figures traveling to Iraq, was continuing efforts to intervene in the country’s internal affairs, according to Iran’s IRNA news agency, citing Almaalomah.
Aziz said supporters of Iraq’s Islamic resistance were aware of what he characterized as Western efforts to end the resistance’s presence by increasing pressure on Baghdad and interfering in domestic affairs.
He called on the Iraqi government to preserve the resistance’s weapons, describing them as an important tool for supporting the government and confronting terrorism.
Mohammed Ibrahim, a former Iraqi parliament member, separately called for weapons to be organized rather than confiscated from resistance groups that, he said, had defended Iraq and helped save it from the threat posed by Islamic State militants.
Ibrahim said organizing the weapons would require concrete government action and the establishment of a dedicated body or committee. He proposed forming a central committee affiliated with the office of the prime minister and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, with a dedicated budget to develop a two- or five-year plan for the gradual organization of weapons.
He said there was a significant difference between confiscating weapons and organizing them.