The U.S. Department of War, formerly known as the Department of Defense, has officially confirmed that American forces have begun withdrawing from Iraq and will adhere to an agreement reached with Baghdad last year under the Biden Administration.
In a statement to Military Times, Department of War spokesman Sean Parnell said:
“We will reduce our military mission in Iraq... an effort to transition to a lasting U.S.-Iraq security partnership in accordance with U.S. national interests, the Iraqi Constitution, and the U.S.-Iraq Strategic Framework Agreement.”
Parnell emphasized “close coordination with Baghdad and our coalition partners for a responsible transition,” confirming that the Trump Administration intends to complete the withdrawal.
The announcement comes weeks after U.S. forces quietly vacated several key federal bases, including al-Assad Airbase, the Victory Base Complex at Baghdad International Airport, and the heavily fortified Green Zone. According to Iraqi officials, only a few dozen American advisors remain at the headquarters of the international mission originally formed to combat ISIS more than a decade ago.
While some U.S. personnel have relocated to the American base at Erbil International Airport in the Kurdistan region, most have been fully withdrawn from the rest of Iraq.
The deal, brokered by the Biden Administration in 2024 with Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, mandates the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from federal Iraq by September 2025, with the final withdrawal from Kurdistan scheduled for September 2026, and ending a near continuous 23-year U.S. military presence in Iraq that was only interrupted from 2011 until 2014.
Uncertainty had lingered after Donald Trump’s return to the presidency earlier this year, as neither he nor his officials commented on the agreement until now. Analysts note that if U.S. forces exit Iraqi Kurdistan in 2026, Washington’s military presence in neighboring Syria could also come under review, since supply lines for U.S. troops there run through Erbil.