Iran Hails US Departure from Iraq as Wider Regional Shift
In a statement issued to mark the end of the US-led military mission in Iraq, the IRGC described the withdrawal as “the herald of West Asia’s liberation from the yoke of the Great Satan’s domination.”
The Iranian force attributed the US departure to what it called the “will of the Iraqi people” as well as "resistance and action by the Iraqi government." It characterized the development as a “historic victory” and urged Washington to withdraw its forces from the wider region.
The IRGC also called on the United States to “leave the management of security to the peoples of its countries,” arguing that regional states should take responsibility for their own security arrangements.
According to the statement, the American military presence in Iraq “lasted for two decades” and represents a “first step toward the full expulsion of American forces” from the region.
The comments came a day after the US Defense Department announced that Washington and its coalition partners “formally concluded Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq.” The departure of coalition personnel and military equipment from Erbil Air Base was described as the final stage of the military mission.
Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell said the 12-year operation “defeated ISIS as an organized military threat in Iraq and across the region.”
The end of the mission follows an agreement reached by Baghdad and Washington in September 2024 to conclude the coalition’s military role in Iraq according to a timetable extending through the end of September 2026. The arrangement provides for a transition toward bilateral security relations between Iraq and individual coalition member states.
The US-led coalition was established in 2014 after ISIS seized extensive areas of Iraq and Syria. During the campaign, coalition forces supported Iraqi troops with air operations, intelligence assistance and military training aimed at defeating the group.
Iraq announced in December 2017 that its forces had regained control of all territory previously captured by ISIS.
The conclusion of the coalition mission represents another stage in the long US military involvement in Iraq. American forces initially invaded the country in 2003 to remove Saddam Hussein’s government before withdrawing at the end of 2011.
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