Iraq's pro-Iran Shiite militias ready to disarm amid Trump threats

Iraqs pro-Iran Shiite militias ready to disarm to avoid Trump retaliation — Iraqi fighters from the Shiite militia group Asaib Ahl al-Haq, 2015. Photo: AFP

BAGHDAD,— Iran-aligned militia groups in Iraq are exploring the possibility of disarmament for the first time in years, as rising tensions with the United States push Iraqi leaders and militia commanders toward negotiation, according to 10 sources who spoke with Reuters.

The sources — including six field commanders from four different armed groups and senior Iraqi political and security officials — told Reuters that pressure from the Trump administration has prompted serious internal debate among the militias.

Washington has delivered private warnings to Baghdad since January, stating that militias operating without state oversight could be targeted by U.S. strikes, the sources said. In response, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has launched quiet discussions with militia leaders.

Shi’ite politician Izzat al-Shahbndar told Reuters that those discussions have reached a significant point. “The factions are aware of the risk and are open to compromise,” he said.

Group commanders from Kataib Hezbollah, Nujabaa, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, and Ansarullah al-Awfiyaa confirmed they were involved in those conversations. Speaking to Reuters, one Kataib Hezbollah commander noted, “Trump is willing to escalate this war. We are trying to avoid that scenario.”

The IRGC, which supports the militias both financially and militarily, has reportedly granted the groups operational independence to make decisions that reduce the chance of regional conflict, two Iraqi security officials told Reuters.

Collectively, these groups form the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a network of hardline factions with an estimated 50,000 fighters. According to security sources, they hold advanced arms stockpiles and have launched attacks against U.S. and Israeli assets since the war in Gaza intensified in 2023.

The prime minister’s foreign policy adviser, Farhad Alaaeldin, told Reuters the government is pursuing a strategy to place all weapons under national control through “dialogue with relevant actors.”

Officials also said that, since January, some militias have moved their assets out of urban centers such as Mosul and Anbar. Their leaders are adopting stricter security measures, including changing residences and communication devices frequently.

The U.S. State Department said that all armed groups in Iraq must answer to the Iraqi commander-in-chief — not to the IRGC.

A U.S. official familiar with previous disarmament efforts told Reuters there is skepticism about whether any ceasefire will hold. “There have been pauses before under U.S. pressure,” the official said.

While a deal has not been finalized, proposals include converting militias into political organizations or absorbing them into Iraq’s formal armed forces, according to al-Shahbndar.

The developments come as Iran’s regional network of proxy forces — known as the Axis of Resistance — faces setbacks. Hezbollah and Hamas have both sustained losses since the Gaza conflict erupted. The Houthis have come under direct U.S. strikes, and Syria’s government has lost influence.

Prime Minister Sudani, seeking to maintain a balance between Tehran and Washington, has been navigating a sensitive path. The militias, established with Iranian backing after the 2003 fall of Saddam Hussein, have become deeply entrenched in Iraqi political and military life.

Two Iraqi officials told Reuters that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called Sudani on March 16 to warn against any retaliatory attacks from Iraqi soil. That came just days after American strikes targeted Houthi forces in Yemen.

In January last year, a drone launched by an Iraqi-based militia killed three U.S. soldiers in Jordan, near the Syrian border.

Former government adviser Ibrahim al-Sumaidaie said on state television that the United States might now demand immediate action. “If Iraq doesn’t comply willingly,” he said, “disarmament could be enforced from the outside — and by force.”

(With files from Reuters)