Iraq has reiterated that foreign forces present in the country as part of a so-called international coalition must definitely leave in less than two months, with Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi saying the end-of-September deadline for ending the mission is “final and irreversible.”
Zaidi said in a Wednesday meeting with US Central Command Commander General Brad Cooper that foreign forces present in Iraq must complete the process to withdraw from the country on September 30.
Iraq “would be free of any foreign military presence… Oct. 1 would mark a new day in Iraq’s statehood,” he said, according to a post on the X account of the Iraqi prime minister’s office.
The post said Zaidi and Cooper had agreed that Iraq-US relations must change after the withdrawal, to cover only economic and security cooperation, and should be based on mutual respect for sovereignty and shared interests.
“Both sides affirmed their complete and final agreement to end the international coalition’s military mission, as agreed upon during the Prime Minister’s visit to Washington in mid-July,” it said.
The statement comes amid repeated calls from Iraqi people and political factions for the US and allies to immediately leave the Arab country after more than two decades of occupation.
The calls have increased in recent months after the US tried to further expand its foothold in the region through an unsuccessful war of aggression that it launched on Iran with the help of the Israeli regime.
The aggression angered many in Iraq, a country where the US has stationed military assets and personnel since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled former dictator Saddam Hussein.
In July, the United States launched joint airstrikes on positions held by Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units, known as Hashd al-Sha’abi in Arabic, further fueling public anger toward foreign forces present in the country.
