Baghdad informs Washington that it wants to keep US forces in Iraq – urgent
Baghdad Today – Baghdad
Sources from Washington said on Sunday, February 16, 2025, that the US administration informed the Iraqi government that it wanted American forces to stay on Iraqi territory.
The sources told Baghdad Today that “the Baghdad communication to Washington guaranteed its desire to abandon the agreement between the two countries, which provides for the withdrawal of American forces by September, September 2025 in the first phase.”
Iraq and the United States announced on September 27, 2024, that the military mission of the US-led coalition in Iraq would end by September 2025, with the transition to bilateral security partnerships.
The joint statement explained that “the alliance will end its mission within 12 months and no later than the end of September 2025,” adding that “the coalition’s military mission in Syria will continue until September 2026.”
Baghdad and Washington had reached an agreement earlier in September 2024 on the withdrawal of international coalition forces from Iraq, according to a plan that is being implemented in stages.
Sources told Reuters a few days ago that the plan includes the exit of hundreds of US-led coalition forces by September and the rest by the end of 2026.