U.S.-led coalition completes full withdrawal from Iraq a day ahead of deadline — defense ministry: ‘Our forces can protect sovereignty’

No troops of the U.S.-led international coalition remain in Iraq. The news was confirmed to Al Jazeera by an Iraqi defense ministry spokesman, a day before the deadline by which the Baghdad government had announced the withdrawal would be completed.

According to the spokesman, coalition forces provided considerable air support in the fight against Islamic State forces, while the relationship with the coalition will continue in other forms. He added that Iraqi forces are capable of defending the country’s sovereignty.

The withdrawal, agreed in 2024 under former president Joe Biden’s administration, is being implemented by Donald Trump’s administration even as the United States is simultaneously at war with Iran. As Reuters reports, the withdrawal is being celebrated as a victory by Iran and its allies, who now wield deep influence in the country where more than two decades of war left some 4,500 Americans dead.

Abu Mojtaba al-Yasiri, commander of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, the umbrella of Iran-backed armed factions, called the withdrawal a “historic victory” and a “crushing defeat for the American project.” Iraqi security experts warn, however, that the departure could leave the field open to Tehran and its powerful allies, while also allowing a return of the Islamic State.

In the same statement, the defense ministry spokesman also addressed Saudi Arabia’s claims that the attack on its East-West pipeline originated from Iraqi territory — the Baghdad government condemned the attack and ordered an investigation into the incident.