As tensions rise, Iranian-backed militias in Iraq are planning to demilitarize for the first time to prevent confrontation with the US. Senior commanders from various militia groups have held meetings in Baghdad with officials to discuss disbanding their forces. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani is overseeing these efforts, as he aims to call upon about 50,000 militants to surrender their weapons. Acknowledging the threat of US airstrikes, the militias are responding to Trump’s rhetoric by seeking to mitigate potential violence, following guidance from Iran's IRGC.
"Trump is ready to take the war with us to worse levels, we know that, and we want to avoid such a bad scenario," a commander of Kataeb Hezbollah, the most powerful Shiite militia operating in Iraq, told Reuters.
The factions are not acting stubbornly or insisting on continuing in their current form," he noted, adding that the militants were "fully aware" they could be targeted by US airstrikes like their fellow Iran-backed militants in Yemen.
The militia leaders said that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has given them their blessing to make whatever decision needs to be made to avoid conflict with the US.
The US State Department touted Iraq's proactive approach as it reins in the militias, calling Baghdad to absorb the force.
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