ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraq’s interior ministry announced on Wednesday a new phased plan to remove unlicensed weapons across the country on a city-by-city basis in 2026, coming amid a growing, though contested, national dialogue on the topic of disarming non-state actors.

Ministry spokesperson Abbas al-Bahadli told Iraqi state media that “there are specific timelines within pre-approved plans based on the national policy to regulate weapons and confine them to state control, alongside major efforts to enforce the security plan in the areas where it will be rolled out in 2026 and to take over security responsibilities across all Iraqi provinces.”

He added that “powers will be decentralized and lie with the head of the security sector in each area, who will be responsible for deploying ministry units and resources as needed.” He noted that “cities will gradually be cleared of weapons and designated as demilitarized urban areas, depending on the security situation.”

The topic of disarmament has proved controversial in Iraq, where myriad tribal and other factions possess unlicensed weapons.

Faiq Zidan, President of Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council, in mid-December announced that the leaders of some armed factions have adhered to his advice on cooperation “to enforce the rule of law, confine weapons to the state, and transition to political action now that the national need for military action has ceased.”

The development came amid intensified calls by Washington on Iraq to curb Iranian influence, pushing Baghdad to dissolve all armed factions, including the state-integrated Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).

Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba, two US-designated Iran-backed Iraqi militias, rebuffed the disarmament calls, saying they maintain the right to “resistance” as long as there are foreign forces present in the country.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on Saturday outlined two options for the armed factions in the country: Either join the country’s security structure or move into the political system.

“Iraq is moving toward restricting weapons [to the state], and there are two paths for those who bear arms: either integration into the security institutions or entry into the political track. Some factions have entered the political process and have a significant presence,” he said.

US Special Envoy to Iraq Mark Savaya in late November reiterated Washington's belief in the need for the Iraqi government to bring weapons under state control and ensure state institutions are protected.

“No economy can grow, and no international partnership can succeed, in an environment where politics is intertwined with unofficial power. Iraq now has a historic opportunity to close this chapter and reinforce its image as a state built on the rule of law, not the power of weapons,” Savaya wrote on X.

Illegal weapons in Iraq stand out as one of the most pressing challenges to security and stability. Unofficial data puts the number of arms within the Iraqi society at around 15 million medium and light weapons, with non-state armed groups and tribes possessing the bulk of them.