PKK's presence in Iraq becomes bargaining chip in Baghdad's disarmament plan

Rastinews — Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Falih Zeydi has laid out, in an interview with The New York Times, a plan to disband Iran-backed armed groups' independent military structures — and detailed how that plan intersects with Turkey and the PKK.

Zeydi described the disarmament of non-state weapons in Iraq as a necessity for his government, not a choice.

"This isn't optional. It's a necessity," he said. Zeydi noted that other Iraqi officials had announced the same goal before, only to back down. "Others have talked about this before, then backed off. They bowed to pressure or other concerns. For me, this is a matter of honor, alongside corruption," he said.

First phase: 90 days, target date June 30, 2027

Under the plan Zeydi outlined, disarmament will not happen overnight — it will proceed in stages.

The first stage is a 90-day period. During this window, armed groups will carry out no attacks, and in return U.S. forces will guarantee they will not strike the groups.

After the 90 days, militias will begin handing their weapons over to the Iraqi state.

Zeydi said he wants the process finished by June 30, 2027. The armed groups, for their part, are pushing to be given until the end of 2027.

Zeydi had initially wanted the weapons handed over by September 30, 2026 — the date set for the withdrawal of the last U.S. troops from Iraq. But powerful Iran-backed groups rejected that timeline, and Baghdad dropped September 30 as the deadline for completing disarmament.

The government set up a negotiating commission instead, and September 30 became the date for unveiling a new disarmament timetable and launching the first 90-day phase. The militias attached a condition.

Turkish troops must withdraw too. The most striking part of the Times interview, from Turkey's perspective, concerns the conditions Iran-backed militias are setting for laying down their arms.

A U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq has long been one of these groups' core demands. Recently, though, the conditions have expanded.

Iran-linked factions have begun demanding that Turkish forces also leave Iraqi territory. Among the other conditions the militias have raised is an end to the PKK's presence in Iraq. Some groups are also pressing demands over the status of the Peshmerga and the rights of Hashd al-Shaabi fighters. Turkey, meanwhile, maintains its military presence in northern Iraq on the grounds that it is fighting the PKK.

Ankara's position ties any Turkish withdrawal to the elimination of PKK camps in northern Iraq and the destruction of the group's weapons.

That leaves three interlocking issues in Baghdad's disarmament plan: Iran-backed Iraqi militias laying down their arms, Turkish troops withdrawing from Iraq, and the PKK's armed presence in Iraq coming to an end.

Zeydi: We are seeking a withdrawal deal with Turkey

Zeydi told the Times that Baghdad is trying to reach an agreement with Turkey on the matter.

Zeydi recalled that Turkey has said its troop presence in Iraq is necessary to fight the PKK, and explained that Ankara ties any withdrawal to clearing out PKK camps and weapons in northern Iraq.

Zeydi said the Iraqi government is also working on a timetable, meant to meet that Turkish demand, for bringing local Kurdish armed forces into Iraq's official security structure.

The Iraqi prime minister said he is also using deeper economic ties between the two countries as leverage in seeking a deal with Turkey. Iraq signed a one-year agreement this year to increase oil exports to Turkey through the existing pipeline, and Zeydi said Baghdad wants to expand that pipeline's capacity.

During visits to France and Germany last week, he also proposed new pipelines that could carry Iraqi oil directly to Europe via Turkey.

First concrete step in Shengal (Sinjar): YBŞ hands weapons to the state

As this Turkey-PKK-Iraq equation is being debated, a concrete development has taken place in Shengal.

Zeydi announced that following a September 11 meeting with leaders of the Yazidi Cause Alliance and the Sinjar Resistance Units (YBŞ), the YBŞ will begin handing its weapons over to the Iraqi state.

Zeydi said no separate military or security authority outside the state would be permitted in Shengal, and that Mount Sinjar would come fully under the federal government's administrative and security authority.

"Keeping weapons solely in the state's hands and unifying security decision-making are fundamental to protecting the district's population and securing stability and the region's future," he said.

The plan does not mean every YBŞ member will be pushed out of the security system.

The legal status of YBŞ members and of its female contingent, the YJŞ, will be reorganized. Those who meet the required conditions will be integrated into official Iraqi security institutions under Iraqi law — not as members of their current armed structures.

"The state will safeguard the rights and sacrifices of YBŞ and YJŞ members by reorganizing their status and integrating those who meet the conditions into official Iraqi security institutions under the law," Zeydi said.

Turkey views the YBŞ as the PKK's Shengal branch

The YBŞ is one of the armed groups Yazidi fighters formed after ISIS attacked Shengal in 2014.

PKK forces arrived in Shengal during the ISIS assault and played a role in the YBŞ's formation. The YBŞ denies being organizationally part of the PKK, though various international sources describe it as a PKK-linked structure.

Turkey, for its part, considers the YBŞ a PKK extension in Shengal and has carried out military operations against YBŞ commanders and positions in past years.

In the 2020 Sinjar Agreement, Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government agreed to remove non-state armed groups from the district and end the role of PKK-linked structures in Shengal. Those provisions, however, were never fully implemented.

Chief of Staff Yarallah visits Shengal

Eleven days after the announcement that the YBŞ would hand over its weapons, on September 22, a senior military and security delegation led by Iraqi Chief of Staff Gen. Abdul Amir Yarallah traveled to Shengal.

Iraq's Defense Ministry said the visit was meant to close out Shengal's security file and assess the status of forces in the district.

According to Iraqi media, Yarallah also chairs the high-level security commission set up for Shengal.

The delegation included Hashd al-Shaabi commanders alongside Iraqi army officers. Talks covered integrating the YBŞ and other Shengal groups into official security institutions, handing weapons over to the state, and ending the district's non-state armed presence.

Zeydi: No independent militia organizations will remain

The nationwide plan Zeydi described to The New York Times follows a method similar to the one applied in Shengal.

Baghdad's efforts are focused in particular on four powerful Iran-backed groups resisting disarmament or full state control.

Zeydi said his goal is to end these militias' existence as independent organizations. Members will be able to join Hashd al-Shaabi individually, but will no longer be able to operate under their current group names or independent command structures.

Zeydi said any group still operating under a militia name once the deadline passes will be treated as "outside the law."

Under the Iraqi government's plan, weapons handovers will begin after a 90-day non-aggression period starting September 30, with the aim of completing the dismantling of both Iran-backed independent militias and other non-state armed forces by June 30, 2027.

The weapons handover and integration process launched for the YBŞ in Shengal is one of the steps already being carried out on the ground, ahead of that nationwide timetable.