Iraq Excludes Pro-Iran Armed Groups from Security Integration Plan

BAGHDAD, Iraq — The Iraqi government plans to exclude several Iran-aligned armed groups from a program to integrate fighters into state security and military institutions, according to media reports citing a senior government official. Deputy Commander of Combined Joint Operations Kays al-Muhammedavi said groups operating outside the Hashd al-Shabi umbrella would be barred from joining official security institutions. The reports, citing Monte Carlo radio, said the decision came at the explicit request of the United States, which communicated to Iraq's prime minister that no group linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps should be included in the integration plan. The groups affected are Iraqi Hezbollah, Harakat al-Nujaba, the Seyyid al-Shuhada Brigades, and Awliya al-Dawla. The Coordination Framework, a political coalition that includes several armed groups, views the exclusion as an initial step against these factions, according to the reports. Iraqi Hezbollah rejected the integration and disarmament plans, describing them as a conspiracy against Hashd al-Shabi and the regional resistance axis.