Iraq Says US Troop Drawdown Talks Will Go on ‘As Long as Nothing Disturbs the Peace of the Talks’ 

04 February 2024, Iraq, Baghdad: A member of the Iraqi's Popular Mobilization Forces stands guard during the funeral of the 16 members killed in US airstrikes. (dpa)
04 February 2024, Iraq, Baghdad: A member of the Iraqi's Popular Mobilization Forces stands guard during the funeral of the 16 members killed in US airstrikes. (dpa)
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Iraq Says US Troop Drawdown Talks Will Go on ‘As Long as Nothing Disturbs the Peace of the Talks’ 

04 February 2024, Iraq, Baghdad: A member of the Iraqi's Popular Mobilization Forces stands guard during the funeral of the 16 members killed in US airstrikes. (dpa)
04 February 2024, Iraq, Baghdad: A member of the Iraqi's Popular Mobilization Forces stands guard during the funeral of the 16 members killed in US airstrikes. (dpa)

Iraq and the US-led military coalition resumed meetings Sunday on how to draw down troops who have been deployed there for years combating the ISIS extremist group.

The first long-awaited meeting took place Jan. 27, but had since been put on pause after Iran-backed militants struck a US outpost near the Syrian-Jordanian border the very next day with a drone that killed three US service members.

In the weeks since, the US has launched multiple retaliatory strikes in Iraq and Syria including a strike last week that killed a high-ranking commander of the Kataib Hezbollah militia, who the US said is responsible for “directly planning and participating in attacks” on American troops in the region.

Both Iraq and the US had agreed last August to enter into talks to transition US and coalition forces from their long-standing role in assisting Iraq in combating ISIS.

There are approximately 2,500 US troops in the country, and their departure will take into account the security situation on the ground, and the capabilities of the Iraqi armed forces, the Iraq government said in a statement Sunday posted to X, formerly Twitter.

The resumed meetings will continue to chart a path to a new bilateral relationship “as long as nothing disturbs the peace of the talks,” Iraq said in its statement.

Iraq has long struggled to balance its ties with the US and Iran, both allies of the Iraqi government but regional archenemies. Since the Israel-Hamas war broke out in the wake of Hamas' Oct. 7 attacks, Iran-aligned groups have struck at US facilities in Iraq and Syria 170 times, prompting retaliatory airstrikes by the US, which blames Kataib Hezbollah for a string of those attacks.

The Iraqi government has angrily condemned US airstrikes against Kataib Hezbollah, which is part of the Popular Mobilization Forces.

The Popular Mobilization Forces, or PMF, are state-sanctioned, mainly Shiite militias, which have grown into a powerful political faction estimated to have the most seats in the Iraqi parliament.

But the deaths of three US service members last month was a red line for the US and in the days following the deadly strike, Iran disavowed any knowledge or connection to the attack, and Kataib Hezbollah said it would cease launching attacks in order to not embarrass the Iraqi government.

Notably, there have been no additional strikes against US bases in Iraq since Feb. 4.



US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
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US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)

The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel," Biden said in the memo.

"While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States."

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a "support front" with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel's military assault in Gaza.

The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.