Sudani, chief US diplomat discuss enhancing bilateral relation

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on Tuesday received a phone call from the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, discussing the overall bilateral relations and ways to bolster them, according to Sudani’s office.

Sudani and Rubio also “addressed areas of coordination between Iraq and the new U.S. administration, as well as the frameworks for cooperation within the context of bilateral agreements,” added the statement.

They also touched on “the progress made in joint efforts across various fields and agreed to enhance communication and deepen cooperation.”

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 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.

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.