Arab reports: Coordination Framework talks with armed factions reach a “dead end”

Talks between Iraq's Coordination Framework and armed factions over weapons outside state control have reached a “dead end,” according to a report by Asharq al-Awsat cited by Alsumaria News.

The three-member Shiite committee formed by the Coordination Framework has made no tangible breakthrough as the September 30 deadline for the final U.S. withdrawal approaches. The dispute centers on what the report calls “Sovereignty Day,” and on whether factions will hand over, restrict, disarm or freeze their weapons.

“

sanctity of resistance weapons

The latest positions from the factions suggest that no final date has been agreed. Harakat al-Nujaba, along with former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Badr Organization leader Hadi al-Amiri, has rejected the idea of a settled timetable. Hezbollah Brigades and al-Nujaba have previously said they will not comply with deadlines because they regard their weapons as ideological arms, not weapons limited by national borders.

“

This approach is what keeps us with our people, living what they live, carrying their concerns and seeking to achieve their demands.

Ali al-Asadi, chairman of al-Nujaba's political council, said the movement would defend what he called the “sanctity” of resistance weapons against regional dangers and threats. He also insisted on preserving the Popular Mobilization Forces as a national body and said al-Nujaba would not participate in the political process. “This approach is what keeps us with our people, living what they live, carrying their concerns and seeking to achieve their demands,” he wrote on X.

Iraqi government spokesman Sabah al-Numan argued that no global power or regional circumstance could break a state whose people supported its institutions. He warned against what he called a flood of alarmism intended to exploit Iraqis' fears before the September 30 deadline, and said the security forces understood the challenges and were working around the clock. Military and strategic expert Mukhlad Hazim said political blocs knew the weapons issue had to end, because it was no longer only an internal matter.

“

No power in the world and no regional circumstances can break a state whose people rally around its institutions in all their components and diversity.