Iran Hails US Troop Exit From Iraq, Calls It First Step Toward Wider Regional Withdrawal

TEHRAN, IRAN — WEB DESK: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has welcomed the completion of the US military withdrawal from Iraq, describing the departure as a major development and calling for American forces to leave the wider Middle East.

The IRGC said on Thursday that the US exit from Iraq marked the beginning of what it hopes will become a broader withdrawal of American military forces from the region.

It described the departure as the result of the will of the Iraqi people, resistance to the US military presence and actions taken by the Iraqi government.

The Iranian military organisation characterised the withdrawal as a “historic victory” and called on Washington to allow countries in the region to manage their own security.

The statement came after the United States and its coalition partners formally concluded Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq, ending the coalition’s military mission against Islamic State in the country.

The final departure of coalition personnel and equipment from Erbil Air Base completed a withdrawal process agreed between Washington and Baghdad in September 2024.

The agreement established a timetable for ending the US-led coalition’s military mission by the end of September 2026 and transitioning towards bilateral security relationships between Iraq and individual coalition members.

The US-led coalition was established in 2014 after Islamic State seized large areas of Iraq and neighbouring Syria. Coalition forces provided Iraqi security forces with air support, intelligence and training during the campaign against the militant organisation.

Iraq announced in December 2017 that its forces had regained control of all territory previously held by Islamic State, although remnants of the group continued to pose a security threat.

American forces had originally entered Iraq during the 2003 invasion that removed Saddam Hussein from power. US troops withdrew at the end of 2011 but returned three years later after the rapid expansion of Islamic State.

The latest withdrawal therefore closes the coalition’s 12-year military campaign in Iraq while opening a new phase in Baghdad’s security arrangements.

Iran and allied groups have portrayed the departure as a strategic success, while US officials have presented it as the completion of the coalition’s counter-Islamic State mission and a transition in Washington’s security relationship with Baghdad.

The United States is expected to continue providing Iraq with security assistance, including intelligence and training support, despite the end of its military deployment in the country.