A shift toward exclusive state control over arms is taking shape across the region, with Syria at the center of efforts to consolidate military and security decision-making under state institutions after years of fragmented armed power.
The shift is also reflected in Iraq and Lebanon, where authorities are seeking to strengthen state control over weapons and prevent their territories from being drawn into regional conflicts.
Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani, during a visit to Türkiye in August and talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, said regional stability required ending armed formations operating outside legitimate state institutions.
Al-Shaibani said Syria supported efforts by Iraq and Lebanon to strengthen state authority and regional stability.
From armed factions to state institutions
Syria’s position reflects its own transition, as the new authorities moved to bring armed factions that had participated in ousting the deposed regime under a unified military structure.
Under the deposed regime, Syria had become an arena for multiple armed forces and overlapping centers of military and security power. Iran used that environment to establish a network of influence extending from Iraq through Syria to Lebanon, contributing to regional instability and the proliferation of weapons outside state authority.
A major step toward restructuring Syria’s security landscape came on Dec. 24, 2024, when Ahmad al-Sharaa, then leader of the new Syrian administration, met commanders of revolutionary factions and reached an agreement to dissolve the factions and integrate them into the Defense Ministry.
The ministry began talks with military factions on Jan. 6, 2025, to establish mechanisms for their integration and develop a roadmap for restructuring the armed forces.
The process went beyond military reorganization, forming part of a broader effort to build state institutions and establish unified military and security structures under a single sovereign authority.
Damascus has also sought to address issues involving Syria’s different communities through partnership within state institutions, while rejecting the use of ethnic or political considerations as a basis for maintaining independent armed formations.
SDF integration moves toward implementation
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have presented one of the most complex challenges to the unification process because of their extensive military and administrative presence in northeastern Syria and the regional and international dimensions of the issue, particularly U.S. involvement.
President Ahmad al-Sharaa and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi reached an agreement on March 10, 2025, establishing a framework for integrating civilian and military institutions in northeastern Syria into the Syrian state.
The agreement covered border crossings, the airport and oil and gas fields, while affirming Syria’s territorial unity, rejecting partition and guaranteeing the rights of the Kurdish community.
The process entered a new phase on Jan. 29, 2026, with implementation arrangements concerning Hasakah and integration mechanisms. These included incorporating SDF military and security forces into the Defense and Interior ministries and bringing civilian institutions under the Syrian government.
On Aug. 3, President al-Sharaa held talks in Damascus with Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, who expressed support for a stable and unified Syria that safeguards the rights of all its communities and highlighted Syria’s role in promoting regional peace, security and stability.
A day later, the president received Abdi at the People’s Palace in Damascus for talks on completing implementation of the Jan. 29 agreement and advancing the integration process.
The recent meetings indicate that the SDF file has moved from agreement in principle toward implementation, as Damascus seeks to establish unified state control over military and security decision-making.
Washington and a unified Syria
Syria’s efforts to consolidate state authority have coincided with moves to rebuild relations with the United States, with stability and territorial unity emerging as key elements in renewed political, economic and security engagement.
U.S. President Donald Trump on July 7 praised the stability achieved under President al-Sharaa and his efforts to unify the country.
During a meeting between the two presidents in Ankara the following day, Trump announced the start of procedures to remove Syria from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, saying the move was intended to remove obstacles to reconstruction and deepen bilateral cooperation.
Syria has also expanded its involvement in international security arrangements. In February, the international coalition against ISIS welcomed Syria as a new member and expressed readiness to work with the Syrian government to defeat the terrorist organization.
The coalition also welcomed the comprehensive agreement between the Syrian government and the SDF and arrangements to integrate SDF forces into state institutions, noting Damascus’ intention to assume national leadership of counter-ISIS efforts.
The developments have reinforced Damascus’ message that a unified and stable Syria, capable of controlling its territory, combating terrorism and expanding international economic and political cooperation, can contribute to broader regional security.
Israeli aggressions challenge the state-building process
Syria’s efforts to rebuild state institutions have unfolded alongside continued attacks and incursions by the Israeli occupation.
In July 2025, Israeli occupation forces escalated attacks on Damascus, with strikes targeting the Defense Ministry, the General Staff headquarters and the vicinity of the presidential palace, leaving people dead and injured and causing material damage to sovereign institutions in the capital.
Despite the escalation, Damascus has maintained its preference for diplomatic options. President al-Sharaa has said Syria is working toward a security agreement with Israel with the participation of several countries and seeks to avoid military confrontation.
He has stressed, however, that any agreement would not compromise Syria’s rights in the occupied Syrian Golan.
The approach reflects Damascus’ effort to consolidate state institutions while preventing external pressure from drawing Syria into another confrontation that could revive instability and armed fragmentation.
Lebanon moves to consolidate state authority
Lebanon is confronting its own challenge over state control of weapons.
On March 2, 2026, the Lebanese Cabinet announced an immediate ban on the security and military activities of the Hezbollah militia, affirming that decisions on war and peace belonged exclusively to the state.
The government called on the militia to surrender its weapons and restrict its activities to the political sphere, linking the move to efforts to establish exclusive state control over arms and extend state sovereignty throughout Lebanese territory.
The Arab League welcomed the decision and called for full Lebanese state authority and for weapons to be restricted to legitimate institutions, particularly the army and official security forces.
President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam renewed calls in June for weapons to be exclusively under state control, placing the issue of who holds the authority to use force and decide on war and peace at the center of Lebanon’s political debate.
The approach increasingly parallels Syria’s efforts to establish state institutions as the sole authority over military and security decisions.
Iraq seeks to prevent use of its territory for regional attacks
Iraq faces a more complex challenge because of the presence of Iran-aligned armed factions with significant political and military influence.
The issue has taken on a regional dimension amid attacks launched from Iraqi territory against neighboring countries.
Saudi Arabia said in July that it had intercepted drones launched by Iran-aligned militias from Iraq toward Saudi territory and facilities, calling on Baghdad to prevent its territory from being used as a launchpad for attacks.
GCC states and Jordan later welcomed a decision by the Iraqi prime minister to bring weapons exclusively under state control by Sept. 30, 2026.
They also backed Iraqi measures aimed at preventing Iran-aligned factions, militias and armed groups from carrying out attacks against countries in the region from Iraqi territory.
For Baghdad, establishing exclusive state control over arms would not only address domestic security concerns but also reduce the risk of Iraq becoming an arena for external conflicts and strengthen its relations with Arab countries, particularly Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states.
From a corridor of influence to a bridge for stability
Against this backdrop, Syria’s experience stands out as it moves from addressing the presence of multiple armed entities at home to promoting exclusive state control over arms as a foundation for regional stability.
Under the deposed regime, Syria formed part of a regional network in which armed groups and Iranian influence operated across national borders. Damascus is now seeking to replace that model with a unified state capable of controlling its territory, military and security decisions, and regional relations.
Syria’s support for efforts in Iraq and Lebanon to establish exclusive state control over arms reflects its own domestic experience, although each country faces different political and security circumstances.
The emerging principle is that lasting stability depends on unified state institutions: multiple armed forces weaken sovereignty, competing centers of military decision-making undermine state authority, and the use of national territory for external conflicts threatens regional security.
Syria’s path from dissolving revolutionary factions and integrating them into the Defense Ministry to advancing the integration of the SDF and its institutions into the state therefore carries implications beyond its borders.
In that context, al-Shaibani’s reference to a “single foundation for stability” reflects a wider regional trajectory toward states reclaiming sovereign decision-making, bringing weapons under legitimate institutions and preventing national borders from becoming corridors for external influence.
For Damascus, the objective is to transform Syria from a country once used as a link in a network of regional instability into a state capable of contributing to sovereignty, security and stability across the region.
SANA
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