US Presence in Iraq Necessary With ISIS Threat, Says Top Commander

Marine General Kenneth McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, speaks with US troops (Reuters)
Marine General Kenneth McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, speaks with US troops (Reuters)
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US Presence in Iraq Necessary With ISIS Threat, Says Top Commander

Marine General Kenneth McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, speaks with US troops (Reuters)
Marine General Kenneth McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, speaks with US troops (Reuters)

The next round of strategic dialogue between Iraq and the US will be headed by Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and President Donald Trump, after the first round ended last June, announced spokesman Ahmed Mulla Talal.

The talks aim to reactivate the security agreement signed between the two governments in 2008, however, Iran-affiliated armed groups in Iraq hope the dialogue would result in the "withdrawal of US forces from Iraq.”

Katyusha-rocket attacks on the US embassy in the Green Zone or military presence in Taji base were expected to be reduced, however, forces continued to launch missiles at an escalating rate even after the counter-terrorism unit arrested 14 persons, 13 of which were later released, during a raid on a site said to belong to an armed group.

Meanwhile, Marine Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, who heads US Central Command, indicated that the US needs the assistance of the new Iraqi government.

McKenzie said the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq will begin once ISIS is terminated in the country, adding that it is not limited to the outputs of the dialogue.

The Washington Post quoted McKenzie as saying that Kadhimi is “negotiating a land mine now. I think we need to help him,” adding that the PM must find his way, and there will be “less-than-perfect solutions, which is nothing new in Iraq.”

The General admitted that the PM has taken significant steps to confront Iranian-linked militias that have targeted US troops, adding that Washington must remain patient as Kadhimi “challenges groups with formidable military and political clout.”

Speaking to reporters by phone after leaving Iraq, McKenzie voiced confidence the Iraqi government would ask US forces to stay in the country despite earlier calls for a withdrawal.

These developments came at a time when the US installed a new air defense system over its embassy building in the Green Zone, which proved effective during the recent missile attack.

The missile was intercepted and landed close to a bridge injuring a number of protesters.

Military advisor Safaa al-Assam stated that the US installed the C-RAM defense system in the embassy, used against drones and light and medium missiles, without the knowledge of the Iraqi government.

Assam explained that the US troops in the country now possess weapons and an air defense system that exceed the Iraqi army’s capabilities, especially in the field of air defense under the pretext of defending itself.

National Security Professor Hussein Allawi said that the ongoing dialogue between Washington and Baghdad is important for both countries.

Allawi told Asharq Al-Awsat that the aim of the talks is to establish an action road map on different tracks such as military, financial, defense, health, oil, and other fields of cooperation.

Allawi indicated that the Prime Minister will take into account the positions of all Iraqi forces, whether they support this dialogue and its outputs or reject it.



UN Says 875 Palestinians Have Been Killed Near Gaza Aid Sites

Destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip are pictured at sunset from a position across the border in southern Israel on July 15, 2025. (AFP)
Destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip are pictured at sunset from a position across the border in southern Israel on July 15, 2025. (AFP)
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UN Says 875 Palestinians Have Been Killed Near Gaza Aid Sites

Destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip are pictured at sunset from a position across the border in southern Israel on July 15, 2025. (AFP)
Destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip are pictured at sunset from a position across the border in southern Israel on July 15, 2025. (AFP)

The UN rights office said on Tuesday it had recorded at least 875 killings within the past six weeks at aid points in Gaza run by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and convoys run by other relief groups, including the United Nations.

The majority of those killed were in the vicinity of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites, while the remaining 201 were killed on the routes of other aid convoys.

The GHF uses private US security and logistics companies to get supplies into Gaza, largely bypassing a UN-led system that Israel alleges has let Hamas-led fighters loot aid shipments intended for civilians. Hamas denies the allegation.

The GHF, which began distributing food packages in Gaza in late May after Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade, previously told Reuters that such incidents have not occurred on its sites and accused the UN of misinformation, which it denies.

The GHF did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest UN figures.

"The data we have is based on our own information gathering through various reliable sources, including medical human rights and humanitarian organizations," Thameen Al-Kheetan, a spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, told reporters in Geneva.

The United Nations has called the GHF aid model "inherently unsafe" and a violation of humanitarian impartiality standards.

The GHF said on Tuesday it had delivered more than 75 million meals to Gaza Palestinians since the end of May, and that other humanitarian groups had "nearly all of their aid looted" by Hamas or criminal gangs.

The Israeli army previously told Reuters in a statement that it was reviewing recent mass casualties and that it had sought to minimize friction between Palestinians and the Israeli army by installing fences and signs and opening additional routes.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has previously cited instances of violent pillaging of aid, and the UN World Food Program said last week that most trucks carrying food assistance into Gaza had been intercepted by "hungry civilian communities".