Ghalibaf: Iran Never Interferes in Iraq's Internal Affairs

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf addressed the question of Iran's relationship with Iraqi armed groups and the country's internal security file on Friday, declaring that the Islamic Republic does not interfere in Iraq's internal affairs while simultaneously pledging Iranian support for any agreement that Iraqi groups and officials reach among themselves within their constitutional framework.

"Let me say this clearly: we never interfere in Iraq's internal affairs," Ghalibaf said. "Whatever agreement Iraqi groups and Iraqi officials reach among themselves, within their constitutional framework, preserving their own independence, sovereignty, and self-determination, we as the Islamic Republic, as their neighbor, brother, and friend who shares in their security and can help maintain and sustain it, we have supported and will continue to support that."

Ghalibaf added that discussions had also covered issues related to Iraqi security and Iraqi groups during the relevant meeting, without specifying the setting or interlocutors of the conversation.

The statement carries significant weight given the context in which it arrives. Two Iraqi government sources told Kurdistan 24 exclusively on Tuesday that Iraq's militia disarmament process has reached a complete deadlock, with major Iran-aligned factions refusing to hand over weapons until American forces leave Iraq. Those same sources confirmed that Ghalibaf's Quds Force counterpart, IRGC Commander Ismail Qaani, left his last meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in visible anger after al-Zaidi insisted weapons must be under state control and demanded future Iranian visits go through proper diplomatic channels.

Ghalibaf's declaration that Iran never interferes in Iraqi internal affairs stands in direct tension with the documented role of IRGC-affiliated Quds Force commanders in shaping the positions of armed factions within the Coordination Framework, the repeated unannounced visits by Qaani to Baghdad, and the explicit conditions that holdout militia factions have attached to weapons handover, conditions that reflect IRGC strategic priorities rather than Iraqi constitutional considerations.

The phrase "preserving their own independence, sovereignty, and self-determination" is particularly notable given that Iraq's federal government under al-Zaidi has made precisely those principles the foundation of its insistence that armed groups disarm and place their weapons under state authority, and that Iranian officials conduct their Iraq visits through formal diplomatic channels rather than direct militia engagement.

Whether Ghalibaf's statement represents a genuine Iranian policy shift toward non-interference in the Iraqi disarmament process, a diplomatic framing designed to reduce pressure on Tehran at a moment of maximum economic isolation, or a signal to Coordination Framework factions that Iran will accept whatever outcome Baghdad and the armed groups negotiate, will become clearer as the September 30 disarmament deadline approaches and the pressure on all parties intensifies.