United States (US) forces are set to pull out from their last bases in Iraq by Wednesday, a departure celebrated as a victory by Iran and its allies who now have deep influence in the country where 4 500 Americans died during more than two decades of war.
Iraqi security experts say the withdrawal, agreed in 2024 under President Joe Biden and carried out by Donald Trump’s administration even as it wages war against Iran, could give Tehran and its powerful allies free rein, while also allowing other US enemies to stage a comeback, including Islamic State.
“Iran stands to benefit strategically from the coalition’s departure because it removes a military presence that for years acted as a counterweight to Tehran’s influence in Iraq,” said Jasim al-Bahadli, an Iraqi Security analyst specialising in studying armed Shi’ite groups aligned with Iran.
He predicted that the pro-Iranian militia groups would not only portray the departure as a victory for their movement, but also “seek to translate that momentum into greater influence over security and political decision-making”.
Abu Mojtaba al-Yasiri, a commander in the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed armed factions, described the US withdrawal as “a historic victory for the Iraqi Islamic resistance groups and honorable Iraqis, and a crushing defeat for the American project”.
–Reuters–
