US set to announce deal with Iraq to reduce troops

The US is expected to announce a long-anticipated agreement with Iraq next week, which will set a timeline for reducing US troop levels in the country, according to a report on Friday.

The negotiations between Bagdad and Washington to reduce the number of US troops in Iraq are now in their final stages, Politico reported, citing two US administration officials.

The US currently has a military presence of about 2,500 personnel in Iraq as part of the Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve effort, according to the Pentagon.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said on Tuesday that an announcement on the date of ending the mission of the US-led international coalition in Iraq will be made soon.

"Today, Iraq in 2024 is not the same as Iraq of 2014, we have defeated Daesh/ISIS with our sacrifices and the Iraqi people's position," al-Sudani told Bloomberg in an interview.

"We found that the justifications (for the coalition's mission) have ended, there is no longer a need for a coalition of 86 countries," he added.

According to Politico, the US officials caution that the threat posed by ISIS has not fully disappeared.

"ISIS has definitely been severely defeated, certainly territorially defeated, and we want to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS, but the threat does remain," Politico reported, citing a senior Defense Department official, who spoke to a group of reporters on the condition of anonymity.

According to previous reports, the US and Iraq have reached a preliminary deal for the full withdrawal of US-led coalition forces from Iraq by the end of 2026.

Anadolu reached out to the Pentagon for confirmation but did not immediately receive a response.

The recent reports came amid heightened tension in the Middle East amid ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah and Israel's war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 41,300 people.