Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said on Thursday that his government is working to expel U.S. and allied troops. Iran-linked Shiite militias have relentlessly attacked American forces in Iraq since Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on October 7 and began the current Gaza war.
“We are in the process of reorganizing this relationship. With the presence of capable Iraqi forces, the Iraqi government is heading towards ending the presence of the international coalition forces,” Sudani said at a press conference with socialist Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
Spain has some troops in Iraq, but the bulk of the foreign forces are Americans, nominally serving as advisers, trainers, and consultants to the Iraqi military.
Sanchez said his government would support “the unity, sovereignty, and stability of Iraq.” He also condemned Israel for its strikes in Gaza, a position Sudani applauded.
Sudani said his administration would respect “the legal authorization granted by previous governments” for the presence of foreign troops but criticized foreign forces for engaging in “military operations” that he rejected as a “violation of Iraqi sovereignty.”
The Iraqi prime minister was referring to belated U.S. retaliatory strikes against Shiite militia groups ordered by President Joe Biden after dozens of attacks on American troops.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday described the U.S. operations as “precision strikes” intended to “disrupt and degrade capabilities of the Iran-aligned militia groups directly responsible” for threatening American service personnel.
Most of the earlier Shiite militia attacks were countered with minimal damage and injuries, but a drone attack on Christmas Day in the Kurdistan regional capital of Erbil injured three U.S. personnel, one of them critically. The U.S. retaliated by hitting sites utilized by the most powerful of the Iran-backed terrorist groups responsible, Kataib Hezbollah (KH).
The Biden administration unsuccessfully pleaded with Sudani to take action against the Shiite militia attacks. Criticism for his inaction in the face of dangerous assaults on American troops mounted at home until Biden finally authorized the first of the extremely limited retaliatory strikes Sudani found unacceptable.
The Iraqi government moved several times to expel U.S. and coalition forces, whose presence had dwindled to a relative handful of advisers and trainers before the Islamic State invaded from Syria and added a hefty chunk of Iraqi territory to its “caliphate.”
Until now, Sudani has been one of the stronger advocates for keeping some American forces in the country, while Iran’s militia proxies exerted heavy pressure on members of parliament to expel all foreign troops.
“We think we need the foreign forces. Elimination of ISIS needs some more time,” Sudani said in January 2023.
Other Iraqi politicians have privately signaled they felt more comfortable with some U.S.-led coalition troops in the country to counter both ISIS and Iranian influence, even as local politics required them to make public statements to the contrary. It remains to be seen if Sudani’s remarks on Thursday represent a major policy shift for Iraq — which is possible, given the immense regional political pressures created by the Gaza war — or if they are more public theater to cover for Iraqi politicians who quietly hope the coalition will not depart entirely.
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