Iraq
US Army paratroopers deploy from Pope Army Airfield, North Carolina on January 1, 2020. File photo: AFP
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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The deadlines for the withdrawal of US-led coalition forces from Iraq remain unchanged, a spokesperson for the Iraqi government stated on Monday.
Basim al-Awadi confirmed to Rudaw that “The deadlines agreed upon between Iraq and the [US-led international] coalition are still valid” and “have not been changed yet.”
In September, Iraq and the United States jointly announced an agreement to end the coalition's combat mission against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq by September 2025.
The security relationship between Iraq and the US shifted to an advise-and-assist role in December 2021, following intense pressure from Iran-aligned political groups in Iraq. These factions had called for the withdrawal of US forces after the assassination of Iranian Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani and the deputy head of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, in a US airstrike in Baghdad.
Since then, Iraq has emphasized its capability to independently address the ISIS threat independently. The US, in turn, has framed the shift as a transition from a combat role to one focused on support and advising.
The Associated Press in late January quoted American and Iraqi officials as stating that the Iran-allied factions, which previously advocated for the coalition forces’ withdrawal, are now reconsidering their position due to the changing regional dynamics, including the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria and concerns over the potential resurgence of ISIS.
On his part, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Sunday stated that Erbil "views ISIS as an existential threat to Iraq, the Kurdistan Region, and Syria.” He insisted that Iraq still “requires [the support of] international forces.”
Despite its territorial defeat in 2017, ISIS remnants and sleeper cells continue to pose a security threat, particularly in disputed areas across multiple provinces, including Diyala, Kirkuk, Nineveh, and Salahaddin.
Hastyar Qadir contributed to this report.
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