The Daily Digest

The Iraqi president told the armed factions on the morning of 22 August to hand over their weapons and integrate into the security forces, saying the constitution and the religious authority require arms to be held by the state and that Iraq will not accept its territory being used to attack any other country; the factions' own channels relayed the demand within 45 minutes and none answered it, as today's militia digest sets out. Parliament speaker has fixed an end-September timeline for state arms collection, Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi says the political forces are in "complete agreement" on disarmament and will send the Popular Mobilization law to parliament, and a government spokesperson has ruled out any foreign mediation on the weapons talks. The 30 September date the president gave for the international coalition's withdrawal, which he called no longer needed, is the same one the arms-collection clock runs to, and it falls while Iraq's air defense future is in disarray over a stalled South Korean deal, Amwaj reported.

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf urged Baghdad to break its economic dependence on Washington while insisting Tehran never interferes in Iraq's internal affairs — a disavowal issued in the same days his government was asked to ease Iraq's oil traffic. Iran has now allowed Iraqi oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz at Baghdad's request, Kurdistan24 reported on 22 August, the concession Baghdad sought during a visit that closed with the speaker at the graves of allied Iraqi fighters in Karbala, where he also hailed the two countries' shared history.

Baghdad set a target of 8 to 10 million barrels per day within six years, Reuters reported, while al-Zaidi said salaries are guaranteed and sought alternative oil export routes and Iraqi and Saudi officials discussed energy security and oil market stability. In Kirkuk a British energy major aims to raise oil and gas production, and the province's governor, pledging a smooth transfer of power, disclosed new energy talks with Turkey. The KRG has sent a 2027 budget proposal prioritizing salaries and entitlements, Rudaw reported.

Away from the weapons file, Iraqi forces arrested 50 suspected drug traffickers and seized a drug manufacturing lab, Rudaw reported on 21 August. In Basra, a craftsman is turning the marshes' traditional boats into miniature replicas, 964 Media reported.

THINGS TO WATCH

A second Iraqi tanker passage through Hormuz, or a formal Iran-Iraq arrangement, is announcedmedium likelihoodhigh impactTehran let Iraqi oil tankers through on Baghdad's request, leaving open whether this was a one-off gesture or a standing arrangement that repeat passages would confirm.

The Popular Mobilization law is formally submitted to parliament and given a first readingmedium likelihoodhigh impactAl-Zaidi said he would send the bill after a months-long standoff, and submission and a reading are dated public acts that either occur or do not.

A named political force publicly disputes the PM's 'complete agreement' on disarmamentmedium likelihoodmedium impactAl-Zaidi asserted total consensus while, per today's militia digest, no faction stated its own position on the handover formula — a claim that invites rebuttal in a party's own voice.

Baghdad names a specific alternative export route or a Kirkuk-Turkey energy termlow likelihoodmedium impactThe prime minister said he was seeking alternative export routes and the Kirkuk governor disclosed talks with Turkey; naming a route or a contracted term would show either is more than intent.

A signature or cancellation on the stalled South Korean air-defense contract before 30 Septemberlow likelihoodhigh impactAmwaj reports Iraq's air defense future in disarray over the stalled deal, and the coalition's departure on 30 September gives the file a fixed date to resolve against.