Iraqi Prime Minister Opposes Call for Dissolution of Hashd al-Shaabi

Haider al-Abadi, the Prime Minister of Iraq, opposed the call for the dissolution of the paramilitary force Hashd al-Shaabi on Saturday, August 5. Earlier, Muqtada al-Sadr, an Iraqi Shia cleric, had demanded the disbandment of this force. According to the official Iraqi news agency, Mr. Abadi stated in a speech: "Hashd al-Shaabi, which is under the leadership of the religious authority and the state, will not be dissolved." Additionally, Ahmad al-Asadi, the spokesman for Hashd al-Shaabi, stated in remarks reported by Alsumaria News on Sunday that Haider al-Abadi, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Iraq, clearly spoke about Hashd al-Shaabi and emphasized that this organization will not be dissolved and will remain a main part of Iraq's security system. Previously, Muqtada al-Sadr had called on the Iraqi government on Friday, August 4, to dismantle Hashd al-Shaabi. This paramilitary force is estimated to consist of about 122,000 members. According to AFP, Mr. Sadr made this request during a conversation with thousands of his supporters in Baghdad, following his visit to Saudi Arabia, a rival of the Islamic Republic in the region, the previous week. Hashd al-Shaabi, or the "Popular Mobilization Forces," primarily consists of Shia paramilitary groups supported by Tehran and was recognized by the Iraqi parliament in December 2016 as a reserve force for the army and police of the country. These forces played a significant role in the recapture of the important and strategic city of Mosul in Iraq last July, which was the first city to be captured by the Islamic State group. Earlier, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, also supported the activities of Hashd al-Shaabi on June 20, stating that "the American opposition and their proxies" to Hashd al-Shaabi is because they want Iraq to lose an important factor of its power. Following that, Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, the overseas branch of the Revolutionary Guards, explicitly stated at the end of July that "the commander of Hashd al-Shaabi was able to take control of the keys to the Islamic Republic's weapons warehouses for himself, because the Islamic Republic is not like others who would take the money of the Iraqi people and not provide them with weapons in times of need." According to AFP, Muqtada al-Sadr, in his speech on Friday addressed to Haider al-Abadi, urged him to seize all weapons and ammunition in the possession of Hashd al-Shaabi, to dismantle it entirely, and to only integrate its disciplined and trained forces into the Iraqi army. He made his request following his trip to Saudi Arabia, a visit that both Riyadh and Muqtada al-Sadr's office described as successful. Muqtada al-Sadr's office announced that this trip was made in response to an "official invitation" from Riyadh. Meanwhile, relations between Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic have been continuously tense and strained since the attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran, with both countries regularly accusing each other of interference in their internal affairs. In April of this year, Muqtada al-Sadr also called for the resignation of Bashar al-Assad from power; Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, is an ally of Iran in the region.