Iraqi speaker, US Envoy discuss troop cuts and economic ties
Shafaq News – Baghdad
On Monday, Iraq’s Parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani met with US Chargé d’Affaires Steven Fagin in Baghdad to discuss the future of American forces and prospects for broader economic cooperation.
According to a statement by the parliament, the talks focused on mechanisms to reduce the number of US troops at Ain al-Assad base in Al-Anbar province and to transition military cooperation to a more limited bilateral framework within the Kurdistan Region.
Al-Mashhadani stressed that sustainable security cannot be achieved without economic growth, urging US companies to expand their presence in Iraq to support the private sector and create jobs for the local workforce.
Both sides reaffirmed the strength of Iraq-US relations and their commitment to developing ties in political, economic, and security fields.
A US Defense Department official told Shafaq News earlier that Washington continues to “review and adjust” its deployment as required, in line with the Global Coalition’s mission to defeat ISIS. The official added that the United States is committed to ending the Coalition’s combat mission in Iraq by September 2025, while continuing to support operations in Syria until September 2026, before shifting to a bilateral security partnership with Baghdad.
Relations between Washington and Baghdad have been marked by diplomatic stagnation since Donald Trump assumed the presidency, with engagement limited to meetings between Fagin and Iraqi officials and a single phone call received by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The first stage of the Coalition’s withdrawal began last week, when an American military convoy departed Ain al-Assad base for Syria. Under the current timetable, Coalition forces are scheduled to leave both Ain al-Assad and Baghdad by September 2025, with part of the contingent relocating to Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region, and to Kuwait. The overall US troop presence in Iraq is expected to decline from around 2,000 soldiers to fewer than 500 stationed in Erbil.
