Iraq's prime minister said on Friday that no US troops are left in the country, including in advisory roles, as Baghdad moves to bring all weapons under state control by next June, Anadolu Agency reported. Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi told the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that the absence of foreign forces had removed the justification armed factions previously cited for retaining their weapons, and stressed that the government's decision to restrict weapons to state institutions was final and irreversible.

Source: Anadolu Agency via Hatha Alyoum

"By June 30, 2027, there will be no weapons outside the framework of the state," Al-Zaidi said. He said the government had reached agreements concerning weapons held by three armed factions and was negotiating with four others to complete the process. "Iraq is a state that has factions, not factions that own a state," he added.

Source: Anadolu Agency via Hatha Alyoum

June 30, 2027deadline for all weapons to be under state control
3 factionshave reached weapons agreements with the government, PM says
4 morefactions still in negotiation, PM says
Sept 30, 2026Operation Inherent Resolve formally concluded, Pentagon said

The statement builds on the September 30 conclusion of Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq, when Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the mission had formally ended and AP reported the US military had announced the withdrawal of all American troops was complete, with the last troops and equipment leaving the Erbil air base. Parnell also said the US military would continue to provide targeted training and intelligence support to Iraqi partners; the reports did not say where that support would be based, and neither the Anadolu nor the INA-based reports included a fresh US government response to Al-Zaidi's advisers claim.

Source: Anadolu via Origin Pakistan, with AP background

The disarmament push already faces public pushback from at least one armed group. Abdul Qader al-Karbalaei, military deputy of the Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba movement, said on Wednesday that terms such as "disarmament", "handover" and "restriction" had no place in his movement's vocabulary and that its weapons would never be surrendered, Press TV reported.

Source: Press TV

What is solid

  • Iraq's prime minister told INA that no US troops remain in Iraq, including advisers — reported by Anadolu and carried by several outlets on October 24
  • He set June 30, 2027 as the deadline for weapons to be held only by state institutions, and said agreements exist with three factions with talks under way with four more
  • The US-led Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq was formally concluded on September 30, and AP reported the US military announced its troop withdrawal was complete

What is only claimed

  • The Pentagon said on September 30 it would keep providing targeted training and intelligence support to Iraqi partners, without saying where it would be based — how that sits with 'no advisers remain' is not clarified in the reports, and no fresh US response was included
  • At least one armed faction, Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, has publicly rejected surrendering its weapons, so the June 2027 deadline is a government target, not an agreed outcome with all groups