BAGHDAD — Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said Thursday that the disarmament of armed groups operating outside state control — including numerous Iran-backed militias — will be extended until June 30, 2027, declaring October 1 a “historic day” as the U.S.-led coalition’s anti-ISIS mission formally ended and the last American troops left the Erbil base.
“October 1, 2026 marks the beginning of a serious process to address the issue of weapons outside state control,” al-Zaidi said in a statement released by his office, according to media reports. The roadmap begins with a 90-day ceasefire in which armed groups would halt attacks in exchange for assurances that U.S. forces would not target them, followed by the progressive surrender of weapons or integration of the groups under state control. Al-Zaidi called the coalition’s departure and “complete and definitive withdrawal” of foreign forces “a great national achievement.”
Baghdad had initially set September 30 for all non-state armed groups to come under government authority, but the deadline passed with several powerful Iran-aligned factions refusing to disarm. Two prominent factions initially agreed to surrender their weapons, while others refused, according to a U.S. government report. Jaafar Husseini, a military spokesman for the powerful Kataib Hezbollah militia, said the factions were “not bound by any timetable or agreement mentioned by the government.” U.S. military officials said the holdouts retain rockets, missiles, drones and, in some cases, air defense systems capable of threatening American personnel and facilities across the region.
“So long as Iran is at war, it will continue operationally working with these groups in Iraq, and there’s nothing that the Iraqi government can do about it at the moment,” said Renad Mansour, an Iraq analyst at the London-based Chatham House think tank, according to Euronews. Kurdish leaders in Iraq’s Kurdistan region also fear the withdrawal strips them of air defenses that helped intercept more than 1,000 drone and ballistic missile attacks during the U.S.-Iran conflict.
The Pentagon says the Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve will remain operational from Jordan, with the U.S. role in Iraq shifting to training, specialized support and intelligence sharing. Analysts warned that the loss of American intelligence, air defense and drone support could make it easier for ISIS sleeper cells to regroup — and for pro-Iran militias to expand their political leverage — making compliance with Baghdad’s disarmament plan an early test of Iraq’s stability.
