A US-led coalition's military mission in Iraq will end by September 2025 and there will be a transition to bilateral security partnerships, the United States and Iraq said in a joint statement on Friday.
The US has approximately 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in neighboring Syria as part of the coalition formed in 2014 to combat ISIS as it rampaged through the two countries.
The joint statement provided few details, including how many US troops would leave Iraq and from which bases.
The announcement was a product of nine months of negotiations.
An Iraqi official said the coalition will maintain its mission in Syria.
Not a withdrawal
In a briefing with reporters on Friday, a senior US official said that the move was not a withdrawal and declined to say if any troops would even be leaving Iraq.
"I just want to foot stomp the fact that this is not a withdrawal. This is a transition. It's a transition from a coalition military mission to an expanded US-Iraqi bilateral security relationship," the official said according to Reuters.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani initiated talks with Washington in January on the change. He has said that, while he appreciates their help, US troops have become a magnet for instability, frequently targeted and responding with strikes often not coordinated with the Iraqi government.
Reuters has reported that the agreement would see hundreds of troops leave by September 2025, with the remainder departing by the end of 2026.
Under the plan, all coalition forces would leave the Ain al-Asad airbase in western Anbar province and significantly reduce their presence in Baghdad by September 2025.
US and other coalition troops are expected to remain in Erbil. Other nations, including Germany, France, Spain, and Italy, contribute hundreds of troops to the coalition.
The drawdown will mark a notable shift in Washington's military posture in the Middle East.
While primarily focused on countering ISIS, US officials acknowledge the US presence also serves as a strategic position against Iranian influence.
This position has grown more important as Israel and Iran escalate their regional confrontation, with US forces in Iraq shooting down rockets and drones fired towards Israel in recent months, according to US officials.
Sudani win
Sudani aide Hussein Allawi told Asharq Al-Awsat that the mission will completely end its mission in Iraq in 2026 and focus its operations in Syria.
The coalition, which helped Iraqi armed forces liberate provinces that terrorist groups had seized ten years ago, is no longer needed, he added.
The agreement will likely present a political win for Sudani as he balances Iraq's position as an ally of both Washington and Tehran.
An Iraqi political source told Asharq Al-Awsat is a victory for Sudani, who had for months insisted on the withdrawal despite Washington’s reservations and pressure from Iraqi armed factions that wanted to “violently” drive them out of the country.
Sudani put the finishing touches to the deal during his recent visit to New York where he attended the United Nations General Assembly, he revealed.
The announcement of the end of the mission is a political win at a very critical moment in the Middle East, he added.
However, a Shiite politician said the forces that are opposed to the American troop deployment are “wary of the vagueness of the announcement.”
The position of the armed forces will become clear at the appropriate time as they await the details of the plan to come to light and its implementation on the ground, he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Iraqi circles have completely lost faith in the Americans, who at first may agree to Iraq’s request for them to leave, but may then place obstacles to renege on the deal, he went on to say.
The pro-Iran Kataib Hezbollah faction called on Sudani against rushing to announce the pullout of the forces.
In a statement, it said the timing of the announcement was “not right given the American’s involvement in the mass killing of children, women and innocents and the operations of betrayal in Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen and Syria.”
