Middle East — 2026-09-30

Last US Forces Depart Iraq Ending 23-Year Military Presence Negotiated Under Biden

BLUFBaghdad's militia disarmament pledge loses its only enforcement mechanism with the coalition's departure, leaving Kurdistan exposed to Iranian and proxy strikes without allied air defense coverage.

NPR reported that the last US troops operating under the anti-ISIS coalition were to leave Iraq by Wednesday, September 30, with only a few hundred of roughly 2,500 troops still in country 1. The National reported that the remaining forces are in the Kurdistan region and that the date follows a 2024 US-Iraq framework 2, which the State Department's joint statement set out 3. An Iraqi official told The National that Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi pushed for September 30 during his July Washington visit 2. Zaidi has since said militia disarmament will finish by June 2027 2; Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba say they will not disarm until foreign troops leave 2. Kurdish officials cited more than 1,000 Iranian and proxy drone and missile attacks on the region and said they lack air defenses 12.

Analysis
The exit removes the one deadline that tied militia disarmament to a foreign-troop presence, and the Kurdistan region absorbs the immediate risk. Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba have made disarmament conditional on departure, while Prime Minister al-Zaidi has already moved his own target to June 2027, so the pledge has no enforcement date. Erbil still faces Iranian and proxy drone and missile fire, now without coalition air defenses, intelligence or surveillance. Baghdad's sovereignty gain leaves capability gaps that bilateral arrangements have yet to fill. Sourcing is solid on the timeline, but the militia and Kurdish security claims come from interested officials. Residual US and NATO support through bilateral channels may leave militia leverage and Kurdish exposure less changed than the deadline implies.

4 sources

After more than two decades, U.S. forces prepare to leave Iraq - NPR
Iraq prepares for new chapter after US troop withdrawal as security concerns remain - The National
Joint Statement Announcing the Timeline for the End of the Military Mission of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in Iraq - U.S. Department of State
U.S. forces to leave Iraq after 23 years - Drop Site News