On Wednesday, President Masoud Barzani defended the Peshmerga's right to bear arms amid ongoing political discussions over the integration of armed groups into the Iraqi state.

"For some time now, and in light of the particular political circumstances that have arisen, some parties have been raising the issue of the Peshmerga's weapons, offering misinterpretations and misguided views on the matter. It is therefore necessary to remind everyone that the Peshmerga was born from the blood, suffering, and tears of the people of Kurdistan," President Barzani said.

"The weapon of the Peshmerga is not iron, ammunition, or instruments of war. The weapon of the Peshmerga is its history, sacrifice, dignity, and belief. It is the loyalty and commitment the Peshmerga has always upheld toward its people, its land, and its homeland."

The statement comes amid new moves in Iraq to disarm elements of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) — a move welcomed by the new U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Syria and Iraq, Tom Barrack, who commended the groups that made the "principled decision to return all weapons to the Iraqi state."

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi also received delegations from PMF factions on Wednesday and announced that a committee would be formed for groups that disengaged from the PMF and to confine arms to the hands of the state.

Janghis Awakalay, a Senior Office Member and International Relations Coordinator for the Kurdistan Democratic Party, told Kurdistan Chronicle that "although there are efforts to bring weapons under the authority of the Iraqi federal government and the state, some political parties and militia groups remain reluctant to surrender their arms.

"In this context, certain actors have also raised the issue of the Peshmerga forces and their weapons, using it as a comparison or justification for resisting disarmament. This debate is not new; it has existed since the early years following the establishment of the new Iraq.

"The position often expressed by President Barzani is that the Peshmerga forces should not be equated with militia groups. The Peshmerga are regarded as a legitimate force that protects the people of Kurdistan and has played a recognized role in defending the region and contributing to stability. Therefore, from this perspective, their status is fundamentally different from that of armed groups operating outside clear constitutional and institutional frameworks."

There are also rumors that Iraq is planning to form a new national security ministry, which would integrate the PMF and the Peshmerga forces.

Mohammed A. Salih, a Non-Resident Senior Fellow in the Foreign Policy Research Institute, underlined that despite attempts by some factions to "equate the Peshmerga with the Shi'a armed factions and the PMF, the fact of the matter is that the Peshmerga have not and do not pose a threat to the rest of Iraq or to any of the neighboring countries of Iraq.

"The Peshmerga have not acted the way that the armed factions incorporated into the PMF did by posing a threat to Iraq's stability, as well as to some of Iraq's neighbors. [The actions of those factions] almost pushed Iraq to the verge of a serious war with the United States and Israel, during the recent conflict, and since October 7."

During the war that began on February 28, Iran-backed PMF factions carried out hundreds of attacks against diplomatic missions, Coalition bases, the Kurdistan Region, and even neighboring countries.

Last month, Iraq formed a special committee to investigate attacks targeting Gulf states that were allegedly launched from Iraqi territory.