OMM Newsroom
Iraq has no US troops left in the country, including personnel serving as advisers, Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi said Friday, as the government works to bring all weapons under state control by next June.
Al-Zaidi told the Iraqi News Agency that the absence of foreign forces had removed the justification armed factions had previously cited for keeping their weapons. He said the government’s decision to restrict weapons to state institutions was final and irreversible.
“By June 30, 2027, there will be no weapons outside the framework of the state,” he said.
The government has reached agreements concerning weapons held by three armed factions and is negotiating with four others, Al-Zaidi said.
“Iraq is a state that has factions, not factions that own a state,” he added.
Al-Zaidi said Iraq had once been only days away from international isolation, including the possible departure of foreign embassies and the imposition of restrictions. Western countries had believed certain armed groups had effectively taken control of the state, but his government had overcome the threat, he said.
Iraq says partnership with US will continue
Despite the withdrawal of US troops, Al-Zaidi said Baghdad remained committed to strengthening its strategic partnership with Washington. Iraq had chosen the US as a partner because of its technological and economic capabilities, he said.
US companies have begun operating in Iraq and implementing projects in areas of bilateral cooperation, the prime minister said. He added that the partnership with Washington, together with the development of Iraq’s energy sector, would enhance the country’s regional and international influence compared with previous years.
Baghdad and Washington agreed in September 2024 on a phased withdrawal of US-led coalition forces from Iraq, with the military mission scheduled to conclude by this September.
On Sept. 30, Iraq announced the end of the coalition’s military mission in the country, while the Pentagon confirmed that coalition forces and equipment had left Erbil Air Base. The withdrawal marked a shift from the coalition’s mission against ISIS (Daesh) to security cooperation, including training and intelligence sharing, according to Anadolu Agency.
Iraq plans oil export routes beyond the Strait of Hormuz
On regional developments, Al-Zaidi said Iraq would not take part in any war and would remain a meeting point for opposing parties. He said the regional crisis would ultimately have to end in an agreement, regardless of how events unfolded.
The prime minister ruled out closing Iraq’s border with Iran, warning that doing so would harm both countries.
“Closing the border with Iran means economically besieging ourselves,” he said.
Iraq is working to establish a network of oil export pipelines to reduce its reliance on the Strait of Hormuz amid disruptions to maritime navigation there, Al-Zaidi said. The government is seeking to reactivate the export route through Türkiye’s Ceyhan port and diversify its outlets.
“The Hormuz crisis has deprived Iraq of benefiting from rising oil prices,” he said, adding that Iraqi oil exports had fluctuated between suspension and resumption because of regional conditions.
Al-Zaidi also announced plans to raise Iraq’s oil production capacity to 10 million barrels per day by 2032.
He described the Development Road project with Türkiye as Iraq’s “third river” and said construction would begin after parliamentary approval of the budget. The project is intended to create a major transport corridor linking Iraq’s southern ports with Türkiye and, from there, European markets.
