Iran’s Ghalibaf makes high-level visit to Iraq ahead of disarmament deadline

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf visited Iraq on Wednesday, marking the second visit by a senior Iranian official to the country this month as the Islamic Republic looks to shore up ties ahead of a deadline to disarm militias. 

What happened: Ghalibaf was received at the airport in Baghdad by the first deputy speaker of Iraq's parliament, Adnan Faihan al-Dulaimi, the Iraqi News Agency reported. 

Ghalibaf first visited the site where Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani and Kataib Hezbollah head Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were killed. He told reporters that the bond between Iran and Iraq is “unbreakable” and asserted that US influence in the region is diminishing. 

“The interference of foreigners and extra-regional actors is rapidly decreasing. American forces are seeking a dignified exit plan from the region, and the Zionist regime no longer has a future in our region,” said Ghalibaf, Iran’s semiofficial Mehr News Agency reported. 

Soleimani and Muhandis were killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad in 2020. 

The parliament speaker later met with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, the Iraqi government said in a statement. Further details were not immediately available. 

Ghalibaf said he would meet with Iraqi government and parliamentary officials during the visit and attend a ceremony in Karbala marking 40 days since Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was buried, according to Mehr. 

In addition to his position as parliament speaker, Ghalibaf is one of Iran’s chief negotiators with the United States on the nuclear file and the Strait of Hormuz.

Why it matters: The trip came on the heels of IRGC Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani's visit to Iraq last week. Qaani traveled to the country to help Iran-backed militias retain their weapons while avoiding a confrontation with the Iraqi state over the issue, Al-Monitor’s correspondent in Tehran reported at the time. 

Zaidi has set a Sept. 30 deadline for militias in the country to hand over their weapons and fully integrate into the state security apparatus. The demand was pushed by the Trump administration, and US troops are set to leave the country on the same day. 

The Popular Mobilization Units in Iraq are a loosely affiliated coalition of predominantly Shiite armed groups, many of whom are backed by Iran. They formed in 2014 to fight the Islamic State and are technically a part of the armed forces but operate with considerable autonomy. 

Only three militias, including the influential Asaib Ahl al-Haq, have agreed to turn over their weapons. Many of Iran’s most powerful proxies in Iraq, including Kataib Hezbollah, have not agreed to the plan. Iran has spent years cultivating ties with armed groups in Iraq, with some relations dating back to the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s. 

Overall, Iran-Iraq ties are cordial. Zaidi visited Iran last month, just days after a trip to the United States. 

The Iraqi news outlet Shafaq reported on Wednesday that Iraq’s Coordination Framework has launched talks with militias that are refusing to give up their weapons. The Coordination Framework is the largest bloc in the Iraqi parliament. 

Know more: Iraqi parliament speaker Haibat al-Halbousi’s office said he met with Ghalibaf on Wednesday and called for “Iraq to have special consideration regarding the export of oil through the Strait of Hormuz.” 

Iraq has been severely impacted by the conflict in the Strait of Hormuz, which was the main route for Iraqi energy exports before the war. Oil exports, which account for most of the government budget, were around 3.4 million barrels per day before the conflict, compared to just 1.5 million bpd in July.

Iraq signed a deal with Turkey earlier this month to increase oil exports through the Turkish port of Ceyhan.