Iran’s top security chief is set to urge Iraqi Shia factions to expedite approval of legislation reforming the Popular Mobilization Forces and fully integrating them into the state security apparatus, a source told Iran International.
Iran’s newly appointed Supreme National Security Council secretary, Ali Larijani, is undertaking consultations as part of his first foreign trip since taking office.
The talks aim to secure backing from key Shia groups for the PMF law project, which seeks to formalize the status of Iran-backed militias integrated into Iraq’s security apparatus, according to the Baghdad-based source.
The source told Iran International that Larijani will meet with Shiite leaders to stress the “necessity” of passing the legislation.
Larijani arrived in Baghdad on Monday as part of his first regional diplomatic tour as Iran's top security chief that also includes Lebanon. He has indicated plans to sign a bilateral security agreement with Iraq and engage various political currents.
The timing of Larijani’s visit follows recent remarks by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who emphasized that weapons should be controlled by the state and reported efforts to curb Iran-aligned militias’ participation in the June 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran. Iraqi authorities say they have prevented multiple planned attacks by these groups on US military bases.
Since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, the country’s security landscape has been significantly influenced by various militias, many of which maintain close ties with Iran.Among these, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an umbrella organization composed primarily of Shia militias, was initially formed to combat the Islamic State.
Although integrated into Iraq’s formal security forces in 2016 and legally subordinate to the Iraqi prime minister, the PMF continues to operate with a high degree of autonomy, with many of its factions maintaining strong Iranian connections.
The PMF consists of approximately 67 armed groups, nearly all of which are backed by Iran. These militias play a crucial role in Iraq’s security environment but have also been a source of controversy due to their influence and perceived external alignment.
Efforts to reform the PMF aim to reduce this influence by formalizing their integration under Iraqi state control.
In March 2025, the Iraqi parliament introduced draft legislation seeking to reform the PMF by placing it more firmly under the authority of the prime minister as commander-in-chief, explicitly aiming to limit external influence, including from Iran.
The proposed law also includes provisions such as a mandatory retirement age for senior commanders, potentially replacing key figures with longstanding Iranian ties.
“We will in no way accept any border blockade with Armenia,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said. “The claim of a 99-year lease to the US has no basis and is fabricated news.”
Armenia’s deputy foreign minister will visit Tehran on Tuesday, while President Masoud Pezeshkian and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan are scheduled to hold a phone call later on Monday, Baghaei added during his weekly briefing.
The announcement follows a US-brokered peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan signed Friday at the White House. The agreement grants Washington rights to develop the route—renamed the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity”—linking mainland Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave through southern Armenia.
Tehran has repeatedly warned against foreign control over the corridor, which bypasses both Iran and Russia.
IAEA's technical visit to Tehran
A team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) began talks in Tehran on Monday, including meetings at the foreign ministry, Baghaei confirmed, saying that discussions were “technical and complex” but declined to predict the outcome.
“In the history of the agency’s work, we have never seen a peaceful nuclear facility under 24-hour monitoring attacked, without the IAEA condemning it,” he said, adding that the consultations would focus on future cooperation in light of recent events and parliamentary resolutions.
In late June, Iran’s parliament approved a bill to suspend the country’s cooperation with the IAEA, a day after a ceasefire with Israel following 12 days of deadly war.
Iran maintains its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but the UN’s nuclear watchdog has warned that the levels of uranium enrichment Tehran is pursuing have no civilian justification.
Talks with US and EU
The spokesman denied reports that Norway would host the next round of talks between Iran and the United States.
Iran and the US held five rounds of talks between April and May this year in Muscat, Oman, and Rome, Italy. A sixth round was scheduled to take place in Muscat on June 15, but was indefinitely suspended after Israel launched airstrikes on Iran two days earlier.
The ensuing 12-day conflict in June included US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities at Isfahan, Natanz and Fordow, and Israeli strikes that destroyed critical infrastructure, killing several senior military and scientists as well as hundreds of civilians. Iran responded with missile strikes that killed 32 Israelis.
Talks with E3
On negotiations with France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, Baghaei said discussions had not stopped.
“At the Istanbul meeting about two weeks ago, both sides agreed to continue talks, but no time or venue has been decided,” he added.
France, Britain, and Germany have said they will activate the United Nations snapback mechanism against Iran by the end of August if no tangible progress is made on a nuclear deal.
The snapback mechanism is part of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA. It allows any participant in the nuclear agreement to reimpose sanctions if Iran is deemed non-compliant. If no resolution to maintain sanctions relief is passed within 30 days, all previous UN measures return automatically.
Lebanon and regional diplomacy
On Lebanon, Baghaei said Tehran recognizes the country’s inherent right to defend itself against Israel.
“Exercising this right without weapons is impossible. The decision on this rests with Lebanon,” he said.
Lebanon's cabinet instructed the army last week to develop a plan by the end of the year aimed at creating a state monopoly on weapons—an implicit challenge to Hezbollah, which has resisted disarmament since last year’s conflict with Israel.
Hezbollah decried the move as a "grave sin" and vowed to ignore it.
Baghaei said the newly appointed Supreme National Security Council secretary Ali Larijani’s visits to Iraq and Lebanon were part of Iran’s neighborhood policy, aimed at finalizing security agreements and advancing regional peace.
In Beirut, Larijani is expected to meet senior officials for talks on stability in West Asia, he added.
“Living next to an occupying entity that knows no limits in committing crimes is difficult. Our position in supporting Lebanon’s sovereignty has always been clear,” Baghaei said.
Senior Iranian officials, including Velayati and military commander Iraj Masjedi, have publicly opposed the move, describing it as an American- and Israeli-driven policy that will fail.
The Lebanese foreign ministry in a statement on X condemned the remarks as "a flagrant and unacceptable interference in Lebanon’s internal affairs."
