United States to Withdraw All Troops From Iraq by September 30

The United States will fully withdraw its forces from Iraq by September 30, ending a military presence that began with the 2003 invasion. The announcement came during a White House visit by Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, where President Donald Trump said the country no longer needs American troops and pointed to Iraq's expanding commercial ties with international oil companies.

Roughly 2,500 American personnel remained in Iraq after years of drawdowns, including the January closure of the Ain al-Assad base. Al-Zaidi's government has linked the withdrawal to disarming the militias that hold significant military and political power in Iraq and that Tehran backs to varying degrees, a task Baghdad says must be complete by the same September deadline. The most powerful of those groups reject disarmament, which makes the timeline uncertain.

The timing is notable. Washington is pulling its ground forces out of Iraq in the same week it has escalated a direct military confrontation with neighboring Iran, resuming strikes and a naval blockade while Iranian missiles land on US-aligned Gulf states. The move fits a broader pattern in which the United States is reducing fixed troop commitments in favor of naval and air power projected from offshore, a posture that reduces its visible presence while keeping the capacity to strike.