The United States-led international military coalition will conclude its mission in Iraq by the end of this month, the country’s armed forces have confirmed to state media. Lieutenant General Abdul Amir al-Shammari, director of the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, in a statement to the Iraqi News Agency on Monday, said September 30 is the date for the end of the mission of the international coalition forces in Iraq and the transition to a new chapter of relations and cooperation. Earlier, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s security adviser, Qasim al-Araji, had confirmed that the US-led international military coalition would conclude its mission in the country this month.
Under a 2024 agreement between Baghdad and Washington, the withdrawal includes the removal of US air defence systems stationed in Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region in Iraq. These platforms have been critical to the interception of Iranian ballistic missiles and drones targeting the region amid the US-Israel war on Iran. US forces led the invasion of Iraq in 2003, which resulted in a bloody civil war in the country, with approximately 200,000 civilians killed in war-related violence.
After withdrawing from Iraq in 2011, US forces returned in 2015, as part of an international coalition fighting the ISIL (ISIS) group. Fundamentally, the concentration of US forces in Iraq is no longer in military barracks or Iraqi military bases, but has become concentrated in the Harir base in Erbil,” al-Anbar told Al Jazeera. Prime Minister al-Zaidi this week reiterated a deadline for nonstate armed groups to disarm or face terrorism charges.
Mr al-Zaidi was insistent and raised the ceiling of escalation regarding not backing down from the September 30 deadline to restrict weapons to the state,” al-Anbar said. No one talks about the details of this issue. We notice an escalation in the rhetoric of political parties like Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Harakat al-Nujaba and Kataib Hezbollah.” The question of how the government will manage the task of handling security alone amid such challenges remains a prominent one, particularly as key positions in the defence and interior ministries remain vacant.
The withdrawal of foreign soldiers from Iraq reflects a wider strategic shift by the US under President Donald Trump, rather than a complete disengagement from the country. Former US diplomat Marlin Hardinger said Washington will remain engaged in security issues in Iraq despite the formal withdrawal. But it could also alarm some of Washington’s allies in the region, amid the ongoing US-Israel war on Iran.
Who can stop this Iranian threat if there is no direct understanding with the government in Tehran?” al-Barari said. Ultimately, the success of the transition depends entirely on Baghdad’s ability to manage domestic security issues.
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