ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on Wednesday received delegations from two pro-Iran Iraqi armed groups that have agreed to disengage from the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and work to restrict arms to state control, with his office asserting that a committee to oversee the process will be formed "within the next two days."

Delegates from Asaib Ahl al-Haq (AAH) and Kataib al-Imam Ali met the premier in Baghdad, coming after both militias announced the day prior that they will sever ties with the PMF amid Zaidi's push to clamp down on the actions of armed factions operating under state control.

Despite the PMF nominally being under the auspices of the Iraqi state, the US-Israeli war on Iran saw many pro-Iran PMF factions conducting unilateral strikes on US interests, as well as other targets such as hotels and infrastructure in the Kurdistan Region, in contravention of Baghdad's neutrality.

AAH said on Tuesday that its decision is in keeping with a call by Iraq’s supreme religious authority Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani as well as Iraq's ruling Coordination Framework’s vow to support the process.

Later in the day, Zaidi thanked AAH chief Qaiz al-Khazali for the move, calling it a "positive step that strengthens the path of state-building and the consolidation of the rule of law."

"The prime minister affirmed that Iraq is witnessing today an important transformation amid the significant security stability that has been achieved, which makes the current phase a stage of building, reconstruction, and comprehensive development, requiring the combined efforts of all Iraqis to participate in the country's renaissance and to entrench the institutions of the state," read a statement from the premier's office regarding the meeting with the groups' delegates on Wednesday.

"During the meeting, it was decided to form a joint committee tasked with devising the appropriate mechanisms for implementing procedures to disengage from the Popular Mobilization Forces and confine arms to the hand of the state, within the next two days, in a manner consistent with the constitution and the law." 

Iran-backed militias, including AAH, have previously rebuffed disarmament calls, saying they maintain the right to “resistance” as long as there are foreign forces present in the country.

In contrast, the Ashab al-Kahf militia, another Iran-backed armed faction operating within Iraq, denied claims that Sistani had called for “surrendering weapons,” in a statement early Tuesday, noting that “a review of history reveals that the religious authority has never hesitated to call for bearing arms and confronting the occupiers.”

The move comes amid a heightened call to integrate armed groups into state institutions, initiated by Zaidi, who set state control of weapons at the forefront of his government program earlier in May.

On May 13, Iraq’s National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji stressed that centralizing control of weapons to the state is of “paramount importance” for the country’s next government.

US Charge d’Affaires in Baghdad Joshua Harris on Tuesday reiterated support for measures to restrict weapons to the state in a meeting with Araji, describing the Coordination Framework’s stance as “a qualitative leap forward in consolidating independence and sovereignty for a promising future for Iraq.”