BAGHDAD (Dispatches) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has declared that resistance groups will only disarm once U.S. forces leave the country, reaffirming plans for a full coalition withdrawal by 2026 amid threats from Washington.
Sudani emphasized in an interview with Reuters that a plan is still in place to have foreign forces purportedly fighting Daesh completely leave Iraq by September 2026 because the threat from terrorist groups have eased considerably.
“There is no Daesh. Security and stability? Thank God it’s there ... so give me the excuse for the presence of 86 states (in a coalition),” he said, referring to the number of countries that have participated in the “coalition” since it was formed in 2014.
“Then, for sure there will be a clear program to end any arms outside of state institutions. This is the demand of all,” he said, noting that factions could enter official security forces or get into politics by laying down their arms.
Washington wants Sudani to disband resistance groups affiliated with the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella group of anti-terror factions that has been formally integrated into Iraqi government forces.
Sudani’s remarks came as Iraqi Defense Minister Thabit al-Abbasi revealed that the United States has delivered its “final” and “most serious” warning to Iraq concerning the activities of resistance factions in the country.
In an interview over the weekend, Abbasi said that Washington’s latest message “concerns armed factions and includes a direct threat in the event that those factions carry out any operations in response to what Washington intends to do in the region near Iraq in the coming days.”
He explained that the warning was conveyed during a phone call with U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, adding that Hegseth concluded the conversation by saying, “This is your final warning... and you know very well how the current administration will respond.”
U.S. President Donald Trump recently appointed a supporter of his 2024 presidential campaign—who has no government experience and previously ran only a chain of marijuana dispensaries—as his administration’s new special envoy to Iraq to help “advance the interests” of the United States. 
In his fist official statement published on his X account last week, Mark Savaya said his mission is to help Iraq shun resistance groups and free it from what it called “external interference”.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said during a press conference on Monday that Tehran views recent U.S. threats as an attempt to interfere in Iraq’s domestic affairs, particularly ahead of its elections.
“In this context, we consider these threats a form of interference in Iraq’s internal affairs, especially as they are made on the eve of elections with the aim of creating tension and influencing the internal processes of an independent country,” Baghaei said.