Iraq Gives Pro-Iran Militias September 30 Disarmament Deadline

Iraq's government said pro-Iran armed groups have until September 30 to disarm, a deadline tied to the scheduled end of the US-led anti-ISIS coalition mission. Government spokesman Haidar al-Aboudi said the groups had been notified and that weapons outside state control will face legal redress after the deadline; Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi separately told European ambassadors that confining arms to the state is already being implemented. Reports say Washington is pressing Baghdad before Zaidi's US visit, after Iran-backed factions targeted US facilities and Gulf states during the regional war. For Israel, any real rollback of Tehran's militia network is welcome only if it is enforced, not turned into another paper promise.