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US Forces Withdraw from Iraq Air Base as Part of Redeployment Plan

Coalition’s Brigadier General Vincent Barker (R), Iraq’s Staff Major General Mohammad Fadhel Abbas (C) and Iraq’s Airforce Major General Shehab Zahed Ali (L) attend a pullout ceremony at the Qayyarah air base. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
Coalition’s Brigadier General Vincent Barker (R), Iraq’s Staff Major General Mohammad Fadhel Abbas (C) and Iraq’s Airforce Major General Shehab Zahed Ali (L) attend a pullout ceremony at the Qayyarah air base. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
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US Forces Withdraw from Iraq Air Base as Part of Redeployment Plan

Coalition’s Brigadier General Vincent Barker (R), Iraq’s Staff Major General Mohammad Fadhel Abbas (C) and Iraq’s Airforce Major General Shehab Zahed Ali (L) attend a pullout ceremony at the Qayyarah air base. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
Coalition’s Brigadier General Vincent Barker (R), Iraq’s Staff Major General Mohammad Fadhel Abbas (C) and Iraq’s Airforce Major General Shehab Zahed Ali (L) attend a pullout ceremony at the Qayyarah air base. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)

US troops with the coalition fighting ISIS in Iraq on Thursday officially handed over the Qayyarah air base to the Iraqi military as part of their redeployment plan in the country.

"All the forces from Q-West [Qayyarah Air Force Base] are withdrawing. About 500 soldiers are withdrawing. But not all our forces are going to be withdrawing from Iraq," Joint Operations Officer at the base General Vincent Barker said.

In a statement, the General said: “Today marks another milestone for the anti-ISIS international military coalition and our Iraqi Security Forces partners.”

He added that Thursday’s transfer was coordinated with the Iraqi government.

“The coalition troops will depart Q-West base after the completion of equipment transfers to Iraqi Security Forces, in the coming days,” the statement said.

The Qayyarah base is located around 60 km south of Mosul.

A Nineveh Police Command source told the National Iraqi News Agency (NINA) that the American forces have handed over the base, during a ceremony, to the Iraqi forces and announced their full withdrawal from the base.

Speaking at the ceremony, Iraq's Staff Major General Mohammad Fadhel said: "The withdrawal will be complete and the entire base will be handed over to the air force command.”

There will be other pullouts from other areas in Iraq, he said.

The withdrawal came one week after the US-led coalition handed over the al-Qaim military base, on the Syrian border, to the ISF.

Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Adnan Al-Zurfi has reassured the UN Security Council’s permanent member states (P-5) that his country would adopt a balanced foreign policy.

Political sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Zurfi’s comments came during a meeting with ambassadors of the P-5 in his attempt to contain any possible sanctions on Iraq.

On Thursday, Zurfi wrote on his Twitter account that Iraq will adopt an external policy based on the principle of (Iraq First) and distance itself from regional and international conflicts.

He added that the government will set Iraq’s interests as a top priority in its foreign policy.

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Regional Shifts Loom over Larijani’s Talks in Baghdad

Sudani holds talks with Iran’s security chief Larijani in Baghdad Monday (Iraqi premiership)
Sudani holds talks with Iran’s security chief Larijani in Baghdad Monday (Iraqi premiership)
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Regional Shifts Loom over Larijani’s Talks in Baghdad

Sudani holds talks with Iran’s security chief Larijani in Baghdad Monday (Iraqi premiership)
Sudani holds talks with Iran’s security chief Larijani in Baghdad Monday (Iraqi premiership)

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani began a regional tour on Monday with a visit to Baghdad, holding talks with senior Iraqi officials and signing a memorandum of understanding on border security — though Iraq denied the deal amounted to a full security agreement.

Larijani met Iraq’s National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji, President Abdul Latif Rashid, and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. The visit included the signing of a memorandum to coordinate border security, which Sudani oversaw.

But an Iraqi security source told Asharq al-Awsat the deal was “only a memorandum of understanding, similar to dozens signed with other countries,” dismissing Larijani’s earlier comments to Iranian media that a formal security agreement had been prepared.

“This visit is not a surprise as some outlets claimed — it was planned in advance,” the source said.

The trip is Larijani’s first official foreign visit since returning to his post and will be followed by a stop in Lebanon.

“We will meet many friends in Iraq from different political currents, listen to their views and share ideas for bilateral cooperation,” Larijani told Iranian media en route to Baghdad.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said the “sensitive circumstances” in the region required intensified consultations with regional states to safeguard peace and stability in West Asia.

An Iraqi security source said talks also covered the security situation in the Middle East and arrangements linked to the Arbaeen pilgrimage, which has brought tens of thousands of Iranians to Iraq.

A separate source told Asharq al-Awsat Larijani planned to visit the holy city of Najaf on Monday evening and could meet Grand Ali al-Sistani — though such a meeting was not certain, as Sistani declined to receive Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during his September 2024 visit.

The source declined to say whether Larijani’s trip aimed to ease tensions between Sudani and some armed factions after a recent exchange of statements that unsettled the Coordination Framework, a coalition of Shi’ite parties and armed groups. The row coincides with the parliament’s failure to pass legislation on the Popular Mobilization Forces, blamed by lawmakers on US pressure.

Political analysts in Baghdad believe Larijani will meet leaders of armed factions and Coordination Framework figures in an effort to calm disputes, particularly as Iran-aligned groups face what they describe as mounting US pressure that could pave the way for Israeli strikes.

“The timing is crucial for Iran, which appears to be preparing for the possibility of renewed conflict with the United States and Israel,” said Ihsan al-Shammari, head of the Iraqi Political Thinking Center.

“Tehran is seeking to bolster alliances with friendly political forces in Baghdad as Washington pushes to dismantle armed groups and curb Iranian influence in Iraq and Lebanon.”

Shammari said the visit also comes amid “unprecedented public divisions within the Shi’ite political camp” — a development that works against Tehran’s interests and may prompt it to freeze disputes for now. “It’s important for Iran, but less so for Iraq, given the US pressure to end Iranian influence,” he added.

Eiyad al-Anbar, a political science professor at al-Nahrain University, said Tehran was trying to reorganize its influence in its so-called “Axis of Resistance” states.

“Iran wants to signal it still wields strong political and security leverage in Lebanon and Iraq, where the disarmament debate is heating up,” he said.

“By linking the Popular Mobilization Forces to broader political messaging, Iran is telling the outside world: we remain powerful and must be factored into any future arrangement,” added al-Anbar.