Iraq's Government and Weapon Control

Recent statements and

a pledge to restrict weapons to the state, What is different this time compared

to previous statements from

various Iraqi governments regarding this?

Thank you for having me.

The difference that occurred in this government regarding restricting

weapons to the armed forces is real support,

and this support has come from the Supreme Judicial Council,

especially the head of the council, Judge Faiq Zidan, and other judges who

have actually stepped up and confronted two dangerous files:

the corruption file and the file of restricting weapons to the state.

The other matter is the arrival of a prime

minister who does not come from a political background; he seems, up to this moment,

to possess a reformist tendency and an enthusiastic, youthful spirit,

so he wants to put Iraq's carriage on the right track, unlike how it was placed in

previous years on the wrong track or tracks, which has now caused many crises,

with the crisis reaching the point where the government is unable to provide

employees' salaries, and this makes the state liable to collapse at any moment.

And if it collapses,

the regime falls and all political forces fall, making them sense the danger.

And this is why they support the Prime Minister.

The other thing that has changed is the political forces who previously objected.

In previous governments.

Now they all support him,

and this is what happened in yesterday's meeting.

The State Administration, all Shia, Sunni, and Kurdish political forces,

both secular and Islamist,

have authorized the Prime Minister

as Commander- in- Chief of the Armed Forces to make the weapons issue at the end of

September coincide with the US withdrawal.

So what is the justification for this party or that party to hold weapons?

Furthermore, there is real support from the two forces, the real and actual ones:

the societal force represented by Iraqi society, and the religious

authority represented by Sayyid Ali al- Sistani and Sayyid Muqtada al- Sadr.

So this is a historic opportunity that Mr. al- Sudani has.

If he makes the decision, and the decision requires boldness and courage.

to implement it on the ground, because Iraq cannot tolerate weapons being held by

multiple, diverse, and at times allied factions.