Iran-backed Iraqi group sets 10 conditions for disarmament, including full US withdrawal

Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, an Iran-backed Iraqi armed group, said on Saturday it will only cooperate with efforts to bring weapons under state control if 10 conditions are met, including a complete withdrawal of US forces from Iraq. The group said US forces must fully withdraw by land, sea and air, that any American presence “under any title” must end, and that Iraqi airspace must not be used to launch attacks on neighbouring countries. It also called for full federal control over Iraqi territory, stronger Iraqi-operated air defences with advanced systems, and the withdrawal of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighters and Turkish troops from northern Iraq. It said that the PKK's presence gives Turkey a pretext for cross-border operations. The group, which has longstanding ties to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), made its statement as the Iraqi government faces a 30 September deadline to bring all armed factions' weapons under state control.