Iraqi President backs state monopoly on weapons

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraqi President Nizar Amedi said Saturday that only the state should hold weapons, and that this must be pursued responsibly, without foreign interference or armed confrontation.

Speaking on a panel at the eighth Baghdad International Dialogue, Amedi said the drive to bring weapons under state control has the backing of the constitution, the Shiite religious authority in Najaf, Iraq's political blocs and the public.

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The government has stepped up efforts to curb the influence of Iran-aligned factions. One of them, Kataib Hezbollah, has set three conditions for any deal with Baghdad over its weapons: ending the US influence over Iraq's political and economic decision-making, the withdrawal of Turkish forces from northern Iraq, and the dissolution of the Peshmerga, the Kurdistan Region's official security forces.

Amedi stressed that the Peshmerga are a regular force on par with the Iraqi army and a legitimate national institution central to the country's defense, and are not part of the current weapons-control effort.

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