IRGC commander: Disarming groups in Iraq “stab in the back” for Iran

The transfer of weapons held by Shiite groups operating in Iraq to the control of the Arab republic’s government would deal a serious blow to Iran’s position, Esmail Qaani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has said.

He called disarming the groups and transferring control over them to the state a stab in the back for Iran, Caliber.Az reports, citing Al Hadath.

The report noted that Qaani arrived in Iraq earlier this week on an unannounced visit, where he met with the leaders of several Shiite paramilitary groups and members of the Coordination Council, a bloc of Shiite parties that nominated Ali al-Zaidi for prime minister.

According to Al Hadath, during the meetings in Baghdad, the Quds Force commander urged Iraqi politicians to seek a postponement of the deadline for Shiite factions to hand over their weapons to state authorities.

At the end of June, the Iraqi government set the end of September as the final deadline for all paramilitary groups operating in the country to hand over their weapons to the state. A government spokesman, Haider al-Aboudi, said at the time that the authorities had notified all armed groups of the decision.

Al-Aboudi warned that “those who do not hand over their weapons by the specified deadline will be dealt with in accordance with the law.”

The government’s deadline coincides with the planned final withdrawal of the international coalition’s contingent from Iraq.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov