Iran-backed Iraq militias ready to lay down arms to avert US conflict

The move to defuse tensions follows repeated private warnings from US officials to the Iraqi government since January, sources including six militia commanders said.

Washington has told Baghdad it could target the groups with airstrikes unless it acted to disband the militias operating on its soil.

A senior Shi'ite politician close to Iraq's governing alliance, Izzat al-Shahbndar, said discussions between Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and militia leaders were very advanced, with the groups inclined to comply with US calls for disarmament, acknowledging the risk of being targeted.

"The factions are not acting stubbornly or insisting on continuing in their current form," he said.

The militia commanders, from groups including Kataib Hezbollah and Nujabaa, said their main ally, Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), had given them its blessing to make necessary decisions to avoid a conflict with the US and Israel.

"Trump is ready to take the war with us to worse levels, we know that, and we want to avoid such a bad scenario," said a commander of Kataib Hezbollah, the most powerful Shi'ite militia.

Later on Monday, Iraqi politician Muthal al-Alusi denied the Reuters report, calling the claims a nominal effort to protect involved politicians. He told Iran International that "in practice, the real militias have received advanced weapons, and their participation on the battlefield may be completely evident."

These militias form a key part of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group claiming responsibility for numerous attacks on Israel and US forces since the Gaza war.

Prime Minister Sudani's advisor said he was committed to bringing all weapons under state control through dialogue.

Security officials said some groups had already evacuated headquarters in fear of air strikes.

While a US official expressed skepticism about the long-term nature of any disarmament, the discussions mark a potential shift amid a weakened "Axis of Resistance" for Iran.

Options for the militias' future include becoming political parties or integrating into the Iraqi army, though no deal is finalized.

The shift comes as Iraq balances its alliances with both the US and Iran, with the militias having grown significantly since the 2003 US invasion. The US had warned Iraq against revenge attacks by these groups after recent strikes on the Houthis.

Iran has never accepted negotiations under the shadow of threats, a former senior Iranian official said, adding that any future talks with the United States require Washington to abandon threats.

Mahmoud Vaezi, former chief of staff to the Iranian president when the 2015 nuclear deal was signed, suggested that if the Trump administration ceases threats during indirect negotiations with Iran and demonstrates genuine goodwill, a change in approach towards reaching an agreement is possible.

“It's crucial for American authorities to understand, through historical context, that Iran's leadership has never accepted talks under pressure, bullying, threats, or intimidation in its over 40-year history, including during the Iran-Iraq War and various crises, and has never yielded to any form of pressure.”

He said that Iran has always responded positively to negotiations conducted with mutual respect, equality, and fairness. "Negotiations have taken place and yielded effective, constructive outcomes whenever there has been an approach based on equality and mutual respect,” he said.

Vaezi pointed to the previous successful negotiations with the P5+1 that led to the JCPOA, saying that reaching a constructive agreement is possible under new circumstances, provided the US acts in good faith.

He added that Iran's preference for indirect talks stems from the US's unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA despite direct negotiations leading to the agreement.

Iranian reformist newspaper Shargh has refuted media speculations that former foreign minister and chief nuclear negotiator Mohammad Javad Zarif will once again lead Tehran's talks with the United States.

"Some sources have claimed that, following a confidential meeting on Friday morning between Parliament Speaker Qalibaf and the Supreme Leader, the issue of direct negotiations with the United States has been approved, and three political figures — namely Ali Larijani, Mohammad Forouzandeh, and Mohammad Javad Zarif — have been appointed as the selected representatives for this mission," Shargh wrote on Sunday.

However, the report added, sources close to Zarif strongly dismissed the claim in an interview with the newspaper.

Israel is preparing for the possibility that Iran may miscalculate and launch an attack involving hundreds of missiles, Channel 14 reported, citing a senior Israeli official.

The report came shortly after a new US THAAD aerial defense battery was supplied to Israel amid President Donald Trump's threats of military action against Iran unless it agrees to a nuclear deal.

An extremely heavy American military cargo plane, a C-5M Super Galaxy, landed at Israel's Nevatim airbase in the south of the country on Saturday.

"The additional battery that landed here is part of our basket of operations with Americans," the Israeli official told Channel 14. "The defense cooperation between Israel and the Americans is going to another level, it is the best ever."

"Trump's deadline for the Iranians is about a month away - everything is on the table," the official added, referring to reports that the US president has set a two-month deadline for Iran in his March letter to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Last year, Iran hit Israel with missile salvos in April and October. The attacks were mostly repelled thanks to the US military and their allies. Israel, in turn, launched a direct attack on Iran on Oct. 26, knocking out much of its air defenses.

Iran has since vowed to launch a third attack against Israel, dubbed Operation True Promise 3.

Iran's Press Supervisory Board has officially warned ultra-hardline Kayhan newspaper, managed by Khamenei's representative, for its weekend calls to assassinate Trump in retaliation for the 2020 killing of Soleimani, calling it an act against national interests.

"The board has issued an official warning to the editor-in-chief of a newspaper for violating the Article 6 of the Press Law, which explicitly prohibits the publication of content against the security, dignity, and interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran, whether domestically or abroad," a statement by the Board said without naming Kayhan.

The Press Supervisory Board "commended the responsible and astute conduct of the country’s media managers in safeguarding national interests, informing public opinion, and fulfilling their media mission, but emphasized the need to observe specific security considerations and national interests in confronting the global arrogance, as well as taking into account the enemy's cognitive and hybrid warfare against Iran."