United States Completes Iraq Withdrawal as Tehran Receives Washington's Reply

American forces completed their departure from Iraq on Wednesday, ending a twelve-year mission against the Islamic State group that began in 2014. United States Central Command described the exit from the air base in Irbil as an orderly departure. President Donald Trump called the withdrawal a victory and said it was time to go home, describing the earlier deployment as a very expensive excursion.

On the same day, Iranian officials said they had received an official United States reply to Tehran's latest proposal to end the seven-month war. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi presented the response to President Masoud Pezeshkian at a cabinet meeting, government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani told IRNA, without saying what it contained. Dawn reported that Tehran looks forward to restoring the Islamabad memorandum of understanding and that both sides largely agree on the required steps but disagree on their order. Trump separately denied reports that he had offered sanctions relief, calling the account false.

The two events point in opposite directions. The withdrawal removes American ground exposure in Iraq and with it one of the standing triggers for attacks by Iran-aligned armed groups. The negotiation, mediated through Qatar, remains stuck on sequencing, which is the hardest part of any sanctions arrangement because each side wants the other to move first.

Elsewhere the file stayed active. RT reported that United Kingdom Prime Minister Andy Burnham said there are strong indications Iran played a role in a suspected plot near the Royal Air Force base at Fairford. Iran has consistently rejected such accusations. Brent crude traded near $97 a barrel, up about 7% over the past month, which is the market's own measure of how much of this it believes is settled.