Saturday, 3 October 2026

The Coordination Framework called on all parties to “complete and comprehensive de-escalation” after its Friday meeting at the Government Palace. The meeting was held at Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi's invitation, after his announcing the US-led coalition mission’s conclusion on 30 September. The alliance reaffirmed 30 June 2027 as the deadline for resolving weapons outside state control and praised groups committed to the negotiated agreement. Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said on Friday, according to the Iraqi News Agency, that the government had begun the necessary steps toward state control of weapons. On air defence, Tahseen al-Khafaji, deputy head of the Security Media Cell, said Baghdad was expected to sign contracts with several major powers for advanced systems. He described relations with the coalition as entering a bilateral phase focused on training and armament.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq threatened on 2 October, according to Kurdistan24, to respond to what it described as repeated American military flights over Baghdad and western Iraq. The group’s account alleging 14 American military flights over Iraq on 30 September remained unverified. Kataib Hezbollah had denied reaching a disarmament agreement with al-Zaidi on 1 October. Separately, Amal al-Shawili (AAH — Sadiqoun General Council member) accused the PMF Commission of electoral exploitation and administrative instability on Friday. Jasem Mohammed Warwar (AAH — Sadiqoun MP) said today that the PMF law would be among the first bills considered and that most blocs did not oppose passage. The legislative step remains cabinet referral, not parliamentary passage.

Separately, al-Zaidi’s office approved 40 daily Iranian airline flights to and from Najaf International Airport on Friday, excluding Mahan Air. The decision followed US approval of an exemption for pilgrims and people seeking medical treatment. Al-Zaidi thanked Washington for its positive response to Iraq’s request. The approval extends access beyond Iraqi Airways, which had already resumed Najaf–Iran services while Iranian airlines remained barred. Al-Ittijah TV (KH — official) was still reporting preparations to resume Iranian flights today. It said students and patients were awaiting those services and attributed a substantial recent decline in airport traffic to the aviation ban.

Iraq and Turkey also began talks on an oil and gas cooperation agreement, with negotiations opening in Ankara on Friday, Iraq’s Oil Ministry said. Oil Minister Bassem Mohammed Khudair Al-Abadi and Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar headed the delegations. They discussed a roadmap covering oil and gas infrastructure, petrochemicals and energy trade. The broader framework would build on the one-year arrangement reached on 1 August to transport at least 750,000 barrels of crude per day through the Iraq–Turkey pipeline. That arrangement covers shipments from Kirkuk and the Kurdistan Region, providing another export option while disruption in the Strait of Hormuz limits southern-terminal activity.

In Baghdad, the Communications Ministry signed a memorandum of understanding with Huawei on Friday to build enterprise data centres across Iraq. The state-owned General Company for Communications and Informatics concluded the agreement at ITEX 2026 in the presence of Communications Minister Mustafa Sanad. The initiative aims to strengthen sovereign cloud hosting and improve service quality. Iraqi startups at the exhibition were also seeking operational partnerships with federal bodies. Hassan Abdul-Baqi Khalaf, founder of Al-Burhan for AI Image and Video Recognition, said its platform processes requests for more than 3,000 daily active users. He said the company was pursuing a partnership with the Interior Ministry to detect fabricated media.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq threatened a response on 2 October to what it described as repeated American military flights over Baghdad and western Iraq, according to Kurdistan24. Its unverified flight account alleged 14 American military flights over Iraq on 30 September. The Coordination Framework called for comprehensive de-escalation following its Friday meeting, after the US-led coalition departure announced by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on 30 September. It reaffirmed 30 June 2027 as the weapons-regulation deadline and praised factions’ commitment to the negotiated agreement. Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said the government had begun the necessary steps toward state control of weapons. Kataib Hezbollah had denied reaching a disarmament agreement with al-Zaidi on 1 October.

On Najaf airport, Nazem al-Saeedi (Nujaba — executive council head) said on 2 October that a planned open-ended sit-in had been cancelled, in a statement carried by Watan TV (Badr Organization — affiliated). He credited protesters for reopening the airport and warned of stronger demonstrations if American restrictions continued. Hadi al-Amiri (Badr — secretary-general) praised the prime minister’s efforts, in remarks relayed by Al-Ahad TV (AAH — official). Fuad Hussein, however, described a US exemption for religious-pilgrimage flights. iNEWS (KSS — affiliated) reported a conditional return of 40 daily flights, excluding Mahan. Al-Ittijah TV (KH — official) was still reporting preparations on 3 October, with students and patients awaiting flights. Falih al-Khazali (KSS — MP and Muntasirun bloc head) put annual Iraqi losses from the restrictions at no less than 500 billion dinars.

Separately, Amal al-Shawili (AAH — Sadiqoun General Council member) accused the PMF Commission of electoral exploitation and administrative instability on 2 October, speaking on Al-Ahad TV. She called for leadership with security experience and a parliamentary vote on the PMF law. Jasem Mohammed Warwar (AAH — Sadiqoun MP) said on 3 October that the law would be among the first bills considered and that most blocs did not oppose passage. Researcher Ahmad al-Miyahi, appearing on Al-Ahad TV, urged formal government status for the PMF under the commander-in-chief and passage of the law. The legislative step remains cabinet referral, not parliamentary passage.

Abu Alaa al-Walai (KSS — secretary-general) said on 2 October that coalition withdrawal should not concern the Kurdistan Region because Iraqis could protect their country. Al-Ahad TV carried his assurance that Kurdistan’s security was inseparable from Iraq’s. Al-Kornet al-Kata’ibi (KSS — affiliated) and iNEWS carried his claim that resistance operations had inflicted American losses. His reassurance was reported by The New Region alongside Kurdish authorities’ pursuit of stronger air defences and security coordination with Baghdad. Defense Ministry media-unit director Tahseen al-Khafaji said on 2 October that relations with Washington remained strong after the coalition’s departure.

Separately, Alhurra reported on 2 October, citing unnamed Iraqi intelligence sources, that Houthis shared coordination sites with Iraqi armed factions and conducted drone- and missile-related activity. The sources placed part of their presence in Jurf al-Sakhar, which they described as controlled by Kataib Hezbollah. Akher Khabar reproduced the report with the same source attribution. The shared-site and weapons-related allegations remain unverified. The allegation connects Kataib Hezbollah to territorial control, not to a specific drone or missile operation.