The US-led coalition formally concluded Operation Inherent Resolve on September 30, 2026, ending a military presence in Iraq that began with the 2003 invasion. The Pentagon announced the orderly departure of coalition forces and equipment from Erbil Air Base, with the last roughly 100 UK troops departing alongside US forces [5][6]. The withdrawal was carried out under a September 2024 agreement reached under the Biden administration and implemented under Trump [7][24].
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi declared October 1 "Sovereignty Day" and announced four days of public holiday, stating that "the country will be free of any foreign military presence and the completion of national sovereignty over its territory" [1][8]. The heads of Iraq's executive, legislative, and judicial branches issued a joint statement describing the occasion as "a national occasion that affirms the completion of Iraq's path toward sovereignty and consolidates the presence of the state and its institutions" [8][26]. Al-Zaidi said the end of the coalition mission marks "a new phase" defined by Iraqi sovereignty, strong institutions, and balanced partnerships, and insisted that "all weapons must be in state hands" [9][16]. He stated that after September 30 "there will be no need for any armed factions, and our security forces are capable of protecting our territory" [18]. At celebrations in Baghdad's Tahrir Square, Zeinab, a resident of Diwaniyeh province who came with her family, said she had bought Iraqi flags in the hope that it would be the only one raised and voiced hope that Iraq would be "united and independent, free of internal and external interference" [29].
US President Donald Trump called the withdrawal "a great day for America" and "a victory for the United States, a victory for Iraq, and a decisive victory over ISIS," describing the 23-year involvement as "an excursion from hell" [6][10][23]. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the departure from Erbil marks "the successful conclusion of the military mission that defeated ISIS in Iraq" and described a transition "from a wartime coalition mission to an Iraqi-led security effort" [2][5][13]. The Pentagon said it will continue targeted training and intelligence support while Iraqi security forces lead efforts to keep ISIS remnants contained [4][26]. Trump contrasted the organized pullout with the Afghanistan withdrawal, saying he instructed troops to leave nothing behind [11][23]. The UK Ministry of Defence stated that Iraqi Security Forces and Kurdish Peshmerga "have secured the enduring territorial defeat of Daesh in Iraq and are now well placed to take primary responsibility for the country's security" [6]. CENTCOM confirmed the Combined Joint Task Force remains operational, now based in Jordan, with US forces continuing counter-ISIS operations in Syria [5][17].
Iraqi security experts and analysts warned that the withdrawal creates risks Iraq is not equipped to manage. Security adviser Jassim al-Bahadli said "the lesson from the past two decades is that security vacuums can be extremely dangerous" [10][27]. Retired Iraqi army general Mohammed al-Juburi questioned whether Iraq's security institutions had prepared a viable plan for the post-coalition phase, warning that "one of the worst-case scenarios would be Islamic State obtaining armed drones or improvised explosive drones at a time when Iraq still lacks sufficient air defence capabilities" [27]. Kurdish military commander Sirwan Barzani reported that new movements of ISIS sleeper cells have been observed since the withdrawal date was set [16]. University of Jordan professor Hassan Barari assessed it unlikely that the Iraqi state is currently capable of protecting its airspace from missiles and drones [3]. Iraqi officials offered a different assessment: military spokesman Sabah al-Numan said Iraq is close to procuring air-defense systems from South Korea, Turkey and the United States "to ensure full protection of Iraqi airspace, including the Kurdistan region" [3], and pointed to a three-year strategy to strengthen Iraq's air defenses [24], while Air Force commander Khalid al-Tamimi said no coalition force had carried out duties inside Iraq since the start of 2026 and that Iraq independently operates its F-16 fleet [3].
Iran and its allied armed groups celebrated the withdrawal as a defeat of the American project. Abu Mojtaba al-Yasiri, a commander in the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, called it "a historic victory for the Iraqi Islamic resistance groups and honorable Iraqis, and a crushing defeat for the American project" [3]. Iran's government cast the exit as a triumph for its "axis of resistance" and said its aim is to force American forces to leave the entire Middle East [8][27]. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a 26-page message timed to the departure urging Americans to reject war [36]. Jordanian political scientist Amer al-Sabaileh said the 2003 overthrow of the Iraqi regime "den Iranern den Irak auf dem Silbertablett serviert" (served Iraq to Iran on a silver platter) [16]. Baghdad-based analyst Ahmed Younis said Iran's proxies may "feel increasingly empowered in the absence of a Western military presence" and expand their role in state institutions [27]. Renad Mansour of Chatham House said Iran-aligned militias remain in "full-on war mode" and will continue targeting US interests [41].
The Iraqi government's disarmament timetable met immediate resistance from armed factions. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq rejected any deadline, declaring "El armamento de la Resistencia seguirá siendo un depósito sagrado en manos de nuestros muyahidines (combatientes)" (The Resistance's weapons will remain a sacred deposit in the hands of our mujahideen) [22]. Kataeb Hezbollah called the withdrawal "a start towards achieving full sovereignty" and threatened that "a government that doesn't work for the good of its people will be brought down by all possible means" [9][26]. The group also claimed US surveillance and combat aircraft continue operating in Iraqi airspace [22]. Former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki rejected weapons surrender, stating "لن يكون هناك تسليم للسلاح" (There will be no handover of weapons) and proposing "regulating" arms instead [34]. Iraqi political analyst Sajjad Eyad said "Es gibt eine große Ablehnung beim Thema Entwaffnung. Das wird nicht passieren" (There is broad rejection on the issue of disarmament. That will not happen) [16]. The government initially set September 30 for militia disarmament but extended the deadline to June 30, 2027 after factional refusal, with a 90-day initial window for militias to hand over weapons or fully join the army [22]. The refusal is not universal: Iraq's Joint Operations Command said three armed groups have handed over their weapons, including drones and missiles [31], and the nationalist Shia leader Moqtada al-Sadr announced the dissolution of his brigade [29]. Other analysts read the standoff differently: Douglas Silliman, a former US ambassador to Iraq, said the withdrawal appears to be part of al-Zaidi's strategy to politically weaken the influential Iran-linked militias that have used the American presence as justification for their weapons [41], while Lahib Higel of the International Crisis Group urged Washington to preserve bilateral security cooperation and support state institutions without pressuring al-Zaidi into a military confrontation with the pro-Iran groups [41].
Kurdish leaders described the withdrawal as leaving the Kurdistan Region exposed. KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani called the US withdrawal "shameful" at this time, saying it repeats the 2011 mistake that preceded ISIS's rise, and accused Baghdad of preventing the region from purchasing its own air-defense systems [38][41]. The Peshmerga Ministry said the region faced more than a thousand ballistic-missile and drone attacks in recent months and expressed concern that the US is departing "without the provision of a defense system" [8][37]. The ministry also announced that coalition financial aid to Peshmerga forces has ended after a four-year memorandum expired [31]. Barzani stated "the threat is real – we are vulnerable, we are being attacked" [41].
The troop departure did not end American leverage over Iraq. Washington retains effective control over Iraq's oil revenues through the Development Fund for Iraq account held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which underpins roughly 90 percent of the state budget [20][30]. Washington reportedly threatened to cut Baghdad's access to those funds when Iraq asked US troops to leave in 2020 [20]. Trump has said American oil companies should take the military's place in Iraq, and al-Zaidi pledged to move the relationship "from military cooperation to economic and development cooperation" and open Iraq's oil sector to American companies [41][43].
The withdrawal closed a chapter that cost thousands of American lives — more than 4,500 killed and 31,000 injured over 23 years, according to Trump's accounting [23]. Airwars estimates coalition strikes killed between 8,264 and 13,360 civilians in Iraq and Syria, including between 1,729 and 2,373 children [12]. A Concerned Veterans for America/YouGov poll found 62 percent of US adults support bringing troops home from Iraq and 58 percent agree the Iraq War was "a big, fat mistake" [44]. A US Iraq War veteran writing in Responsible Statecraft questioned the purpose of the war and argued the US should learn the limits of military action [15].
Turkey's military presence in northern Iraq was addressed through a separate agreement. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and al-Zaidi met in New York and agreed on the gradual handover of the Bashiqa-Zilkan base, the restoration of full state authority in Sinjar, and an end to banned foreign armed elements [39][40]. Turkish forces were reported to be evacuating within 60 days [31].
The coalition's departure leaves Iraq navigating competing pressures: a government asserting sovereignty and demanding militia disarmament by June 2027, armed factions rejecting that timetable, Kurdish leaders warning their region is without air defense, and a US relationship pivoting from military to economic ties while Washington retains financial leverage through the Federal Reserve account [20][22][41]. US forces continue counter-ISIS operations in Syria from the relocated task force headquarters in Jordan [17].