Iraq says September 30 withdrawal deadline for US-led coalition ‘final’

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has said that the September 30 deadline for ending the US-led international coalition’s military mission in Iraq and completing the withdrawal of its forces is “fixed and final”.

The remarks on Wednesday came after al-Zaidi’s meeting with US Central Command Commander General Brad Cooper, the Iraqi prime minister’s office said in a post on X.

The withdrawal would mark the end of a presence that started with the 2003 US-led invasion against Saddam Hussein. In 2024, Washington and Baghdad agreed to wind down the much smaller US-led operations against the ISIL (ISIS) armed group.

“September 30 will be the fixed and final date for ending the military mission of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in Iraq and completing the departure of its forces,” said the statement from the prime minister’s office.

“October 1 will mark a new day in the trajectory of the Iraqi state, as Iraq will be free of any foreign military presence,” it added.

Placing all weapons under exclusive state control “represents an essential prerequisite for moving Iraq into a new phase of development and prosperity”, the statement read.

The office added that both sides agreed to the deadline of the mission, as discussed during al-Zaidi’s visit to Washington, DC, in mid-July.

Al-Zaidi and Cooper stressed that Iraqi-US ties would shift toward economic and security cooperation based on mutual respect for sovereignty and shared interests, it added.