The Daily Digest

Falih al-Khazali of KSS's Muntasirun bloc set conditions for disarmament tonight on Al-Ahad TV (AAH — official): weapons go to the state only after the army is strengthened and Turkish forces leave Iraq. He put the toll from the American-Saudi attacks at 108 dead among the PMF forces. Within the hour a text in the name of Akram al-Kaabi, secretary-general of Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, went out on three Nujaba channels rejecting the premise outright; al-Kaabi had already pushed a military response to the Saudi strikes and attacked Riyadh in a televised tirade calling for strikes. Washington has warned Baghdad it will retaliate directly for any militia attack on Saudi Arabia, and Prime Minister al-Zaidi told French President Emmanuel Macron the coalition withdrawal is set for 30 September, the same date Shafaq describes as testing his authority over disarmament.

Still on the security file, the Popular Mobilization Forces blamed a Shabak brigade's 'negligence' ahead of the deadly US-Saudi strikes, then denied it had received any warning of the attacks and threatened lawsuits against accusers and rejected the accusations levelled at its chairman Falih al-Fayyadh. A deputy speaker said the parliamentary speakership backs the contested PMF law, the vehicle that would put the force's status into statute as the handover deadline nears.

On the domestic front, the Baghdad Appeals Court issued two arrest warrants for former Labor Minister Ahmed al-Asadi, and former finance minister Taif Sami was summoned in the widening corruption probe, a day after security forces raided the home of former prime minister al-Sudani's brother. Authorities arrested former Salah al-Din governor Abu Mazen and the head of an automobile company, and put the recoveries at 390 billion dinars, 141 million dollars and 500kg of gold.

On the economy, a lawmaker says Baghdad plans to move 400,000 barrels of Basra crude through Kurdistan, the northern route the oil minister said he has opened by rehabilitating the Basra-Kurdistan line, with exports down to 1.75 million barrels per day. Iraqi News casts Iraq as the ultimate test of OPEC+ cohesion following the UAE's exit, and a new Basra union threatens to close oil fields over five demands.

In the north, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani said relations between Erbil and Baghdad are in a 'very good' phase, having relayed messages between al-Zaidi and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in a step described as paving the way for a Damascus visit. Parliament will meanwhile investigate rising gasoline prices in the Kurdistan Region, an MP says, and Baghdad's reported understandings with Turkey and Syria on water releases stand against shortages that slashed the 2025 crop, as Shafaq sets out the production figures.

THINGS TO WATCH

Coalition withdrawal on 30 September confirmed or renegotiated in Baghdadmedium likelihoodhigh impactAl-Zaidi told Macron the date is set, while Shafaq reports the same date as the test of his authority over the weapons file — either a firm confirmation or a slipped ceiling should surface.

PMF files the lawsuits it threatened over the strike-warning allegationslow likelihoodmedium impactThe PMF publicly denied receiving warning of the US-Saudi strikes and threatened legal action against accusers, which is either lodged or dropped.

Basra-Haditha pipeline declared operational by the oil ministrymedium likelihoodhigh impactThe oil minister said the line will be operational soon, and with Hormuz shut the ministry has every reason to announce the day it flows.

Basra union names a date for the oil field closureslow likelihoodhigh impactThe new union attached five demands to a closure threat without naming a date, so a date or a settlement is the next step.

Al-Asadi detained or a hearing set on the two warrantsmedium likelihoodmedium impactThe Baghdad Appeals Court has issued two arrest warrants for the former labour minister, so execution or a court appearance should follow.