ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The United States will work alongside the Iraqi government to ensure that 2026 marks the end of militias in Iraq, said US Special Envoy to Iraq Mark Savaya in a New Year message on Thursday.

Savaya extended his New Year’s greetings to the people of Iraq, wishing peace, stability, and “a brighter future” for all Iraqis.

The diplomat listed 18 tred that the US is hoping to eliminate in Iraq alongside the Baghdad government in 2026, including militias, uncontrolled weapons, and plundering resources.

“This message is directed to those who have spread corruption throughout the land of Iraq. Your time is over, and the time of Iraq and the Iraqi people has begun… We are JUST GETTING STARTED,” Savaya concluded.

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.

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).

Several Iran-backed armed factions have already 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.