US completes Iraq withdrawal, ending 23-year military presence

The United States completed its military withdrawal from Iraq on September 30, 2026, ending a 23-year military presence that began with the 2003 invasion to topple Saddam Hussein. Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi announced the conclusion of the U.S.-led international coalition mission at a ceremony marking Iraq's Sovereignty Day, characterizing the end as a victory and emphasizing that Iraq would now assume full responsibility for its own security and stability.

The withdrawal marks a significant shift in U.S.-Iraq military relations. U.S. forces initially departed Iraq in 2011 following President Barack Obama's withdrawal plan, but returned in 2014 after the Islamic State group seized large portions of territory. Since then, the U.S. military role gradually transitioned from combat operations to training, advisory, and intelligence-sharing functions. A 2024 agreement between Washington and Baghdad set September 30, 2026, as the deadline for complete withdrawal, with the stated purpose of concluding Operation Inherent Resolve, the campaign against ISIS. At the time of the agreement, approximately 2,400 U.S. troops remained in Iraq; by the final withdrawal, this had been reduced to a small force based primarily in the Kurdish region.

The withdrawal has generated divergent reactions within Iraq. Iran-backed militias have celebrated the departure, with officials from groups such as Kataib Hezbollah characterizing it as the expulsion of occupation forces and the beginning of Iraqi sovereignty. However, officials in Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish region have expressed significant concern, particularly regarding the removal of U.S. air defense systems. The Kurdish regional government's Peshmerga Ministry reported that the Kurdish region had faced over 1,000 drone and ballistic-missile attacks during the recent U.S.-Iran conflict, and cited the departure as occurring under "complex regional circumstances" without adequate replacement defenses.

A central issue preceding the withdrawal involved the disarmament of non-state armed groups. Prime Minister al-Zaidi initially tied the September 30 deadline to the disarmament of militias by that date. However, while some less-influential militias agreed to surrender weapons, powerful Iran-aligned groups rejected or conditioned their participation. Al-Zaidi subsequently postponed the militia disarmament deadline to June 2027, indicating that armed groups would remain active beyond the U.S. military departure.

Experts remain divided on the long-term implications of the withdrawal. Al-Zaidi stated that cooperation with coalition members would continue in technology exchange and security matters, suggesting the U.S. influence in Iraq would not entirely cease. Iraq depends on U.S. dollar-based oil sales, American weapons supplies, and diplomatic support. The U.S. maintains significant diplomatic infrastructure in Iraq, including one of the world's largest embassy complexes in Baghdad and a major consulate in Erbil. Some analysts caution that the withdrawal does not preclude future U.S. military redeployment, noting that the 2011 withdrawal similarly proved temporary. Others express concern that the absence of U.S. military presence could enable the resurgence of extremist groups, escalate sectarian tensions, or allow Iran to expand its regional influence unchecked.