No US Troops Remain in Iraq, Baghdad Confirms Officially; All Weapons to Come under State Control by June 2027
Baghdad has officially confirmed that no US military personnel — advisers or regular troops of any kind — remain inside Iraq. The country's Prime Minister, Ali Falih al-Zaidi, provided the information. At the same time, a decision has been announced to bring all weapons in the country back under the central government's control by 30 June 2027.
In an interview with the Iraqi News Agency (INA), al-Zaidi said that once the departure of foreign forces from the territory is confirmed, there is no longer any justification for local armed groups to hold on to their weapons. To that end, agreements have already been reached with three influential groups, and talks are under way with the remaining four groups, he said.
The prime minister made clear that the state cannot run under the shadow of any group; rather, everyone must operate within the authority of the state. With foreign troops gone, bringing the armed groups' weapons into state hands is now one of his government's main goals, which is why the deadline of 30 June 2027 has been set.
Even though the direct military presence has ended, ties with Washington are not being severed. Al-Zaidi expressed a commitment to maintaining a long-term strategic partnership with the United States aimed at strengthening economic and technological capacity. He said US commercial firms have already begun reconstruction activities in Iraq.
He also laid out the sequence behind this departure. Essentially, in continuation of the bilateral agreement of September 2024, foreign troops left the Erbil air base on 30 September, formally bringing the international military mission against Islamic State (IS) to an end.
On the overall instability in the Middle East, the prime minister made clear that Iraq will not get involved in any kind of military conflict. He also commented that any move to close the border with neighbouring Iran would be economically suicidal.
Al-Zaidi also announced major plans on energy. He said a decision has been taken to resume fuel oil exports through Turkey's Ceyhan port to take advantage of global oil market prices amid the Strait of Hormuz crisis. Iraq has a mega plan to raise daily oil production to ten million barrels by 2032.
On regional connectivity, he described the proposed 'Development Road' project with Turkey as Iraq's 'third river'. In other words, after the troop withdrawal, Iraq now wants to put the economy, energy and regional connectivity at the forefront.
The prime minister's remarks were reported by Turkey's state news agency Anadolu Agency. The announcement comes at a time of various calculations over military tensions across the region; against that backdrop, Baghdad's 'we will not join a conflict' position is also significant.
It remains to be seen how far the talks with the remaining four armed groups progress on implementing the weapons-control deadline, and how successful this plan to establish the state's sole authority proves on the ground. Alongside that, the shape of the strategic partnership with Washington in the new, troop-free phase will gradually become clear.
