Supreme Council Spokesman: Factions Prepared to Integrate Arms into State, Tied to Full Sovereignty

Ali Al-Difaie, spokesman for the Supreme Islamic Council, announced today, Thursday, that armed factions are ready to negotiate the integration of their weapons into the state system. Al-Difaie affirmed the factions understand their power should transition to serve the state, operating under the Commander-in-Chief, provided "full and comprehensive sovereignty" is achieved. Speaking during the (Alaanan) program, Al-Difaie elaborated that weapons integration requires disassociating weapon holders from political organizations, conducting a thorough inventory, organization, and enumeration of arms, and linking them directly to the Commander-in-Chief. He also stressed the necessity of enacting specific retirement and structural laws for the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). Citing discussions, Al-Difaie added that factions aspire for their weapons to reinforce state power, but only after critical issues are resolved. These include terminating foreign armed forces' presence, comprehensive border control, and full command over Iraqi airspace. He cautioned that failure to meet these prerequisites would impede any progress on arms integration. Al-Difaie concluded that, upon fulfillment of these conditions, the concept of separate "factions" would cease to exist. Political leaders would then engage in political work, while field commanders and their personnel would continue roles within the Popular Mobilization Forces under a formal military framework.