Top Iranian commander visited Iraq to discuss disarmament plan, source says

Esmail Qaani, commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Quds Force, visited Baghdad to discuss the Iraqi government's plan to disarm armed groups and bring their weapons under state control, a source told Al Jazeera. The talks reportedly touched on sensitive negotiations over the position of Iran-aligned militias operating in the country.

Iraq's government has long viewed the presence of numerous armed groups across the country as a source of instability, and has been working on a plan aimed at consolidating their weapons under formal state security institutions. Qaani's visit is seen as a development that could directly shape Tehran's stance toward that process.

The outcome of the discussions has not been officially disclosed, and neither Iranian nor Iraqi authorities have publicly commented on the matter. Analysts say the process could reshape the regional balance of power among armed factions, and stress that developments in the coming weeks warrant close attention, particularly given how central such groups have been to Iraq's internal security debates.