OAN Staff Addie Davis
10:42 AM – Thursday, August 13, 2026
The United States will complete a full withdrawal of all troops from Iraq by September 30th, Iraq’s Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi announced following a meeting with U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) commander Brad Cooper.
During the Wednesday meeting, al-Zaidi confirmed that the end of next month marks a fixed and final deadline for ending outside military activity in the Middle Eastern nation, according to the prime minister’s office.
“The Prime Minister states that October 1st would mark a new chapter for the Iraqi state, as Iraq would be free of any foreign military presence, having achieved full national sovereignty over its territory and continued to build its security and military capabilities, enabling it to protect its own security and stability,” the office said in a Wednesday Arabic-language statement.
A U.S. official confirmed the timeline for the withdrawal but did not disclose the precise number of troops currently in Iraq or where they would be redeployed.
“The United States, Iraq and coalition partners have achieved tremendous success in defeating ISIS and now the Iraqi security forces, including the Peshmerga and other Iraqi Kurdistan Region security forces, will lead the fight against terrorists in Iraq,” the official said.
In 2025, the U.S. confirmed it would be reducing its military presence in Iraq in accordance with a joint statement made the previous year.
During a Oval Office meeting with al-Zaidi in Washington, D.C. in mid-July, President Donald Trump declared that the United States no longer needed to station military personnel in Iraq due to the evolving relationship between the two nations.
The withdrawal marks a pivotal moment in both U.S. and Iraq history. America’s military presence began in the country with the 2003 invasion ousting now deceased dictator Saddam Hussein.
American troops reached a peak of more than 170,000 present in the country in 2007, though 2011 marked the withdrawal of the last of the combat troops, per the Associated Press. However, in 2014, U.S. forces returned at the invitation of the Iraqi government to defend against ISIS. By 2021, U.S. service members in Iraq had dropped to 2,500.
Thousands of U.S. troops died in Iraq and the broader Middle East as a result of Operation Iraqi Freedom, which lasted from 2003 to 2010, and subsequent military operations.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news alerts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
What do YOU think? Click here to jump to the comments!
Sponsored Content Below
Be the first to comment