Trump Withdraws US Forces from Iraq in Strategic Pullback

The United States is withdrawing its forces from Iraq, ending a military presence that has lasted about two decades and cost roughly 4,500 American lives, according to reports on the pullout ordered by President Donald Trump.

The move closes a chapter that began with the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. American troops left in 2011 under President Barack Obama, then returned in 2014 to help fight the Islamic State group, which had seized large areas of northern and western Iraq. Since then, US personnel have been based at Iraqi and Kurdish sites as advisers and trainers within the international coalition.

The reported pullout comes as Iranian-aligned armed groups and Iran itself have repeatedly targeted American bases in the region. The most prominent earlier case was the January 2020 Iranian ballistic missile attack on Ain al-Asad air base in Anbar province, launched after the US killed Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad. Scores of US troops were later diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries from that attack.

The Gulf dimension is direct. Qatar hosts Al Udeid Air Base, the largest US military facility in the Middle East, and Iran fired missiles at it in June 2025 after US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. Qatari air defences intercepted the strike and no casualties were reported. Doha has since kept its role as a mediator between Washington and Tehran, and it has urged de-escalation and dialogue rather than confrontation.

The pullout reflects a shift in US strategic priorities away from open-ended deployments. Details of the timetable and of what force, if any, will remain to support Iraqi security forces have not been confirmed in the reporting available so far. How Baghdad, its neighbours and the Gulf states adjust to the withdrawal will depend on those arrangements.