Al-Nujaba defies disarmament calls: Weapons belong to al-Mahdi

Shafaq News- Baghdad

On Wednesday, the head of the executive council of Harakat al-Nujaba -part of the Iran-aligned Islamic Resistance in Iraq- rejected any future calls to disarm the faction, saying its weapons would only be surrendered to Imam al-Mahdi*.

Speaking exclusively to Shafaq News, Sheikh Nazim al-Saidi said the resistance's arms were "not merely a material tool, but a legitimate trust linked to their rightful owner (al-Mahdi)," dismissing any prospect of the movement being absorbed into official security forces.

He added that the weapons were "disciplined and directed exclusively at repelling occupiers (US forces) and those who violate Iraq's sovereignty," arguing that the resistance's existence guaranteed that the "desecration of Iraqi soil" would not be repeated.

*The Imam al-Mahdi is the twelfth and final Imam in Twelver Shiite Islam, believed to have gone into divine concealment in 941 AD and destined to reappear at the end of times to establish global justice.