Iraqi PM says all US troops will withdraw by September 2026, since ‘there is no ISIS’

Iraq has pledged to bring all weapons under the control of the state, but that will not work so long as there is a US-led coalition in the country that some Iraqi factions view as an occupying force, the prime minister says.

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani says a plan is still in place to have the multinational anti-Islamic State coalition completely leave Iraq, one of Iran’s closest Arab allies, by September 2026 because the threat from Islamist terror groups has eased considerably.

“There is no ISIS. Security and stability? Thank God it’s there… so give me the excuse for the presence of 86 states [in a coalition],” he tells Reuters in an interview in Baghdad, referring to the number of countries that have participated in the coalition since it was formed in 2014.

“Then, for sure there will be a clear program to end any arms outside of state institutions. This is the demand of all,” he says, noting factions could enter official security forces or get into politics by laying down their arms.

Iraq is navigating a politically sensitive effort to disarm Iran-backed militias amid pressure from the US, which has said it would like Sudani to dismantle armed groups affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella group of mostly Shi’ite factions. The PMF was formally integrated into Iraq’s state forces and includes several groups aligned with Iran.

At the same time, the US and Iraq have agreed on a phased withdrawal of American troops, with a full exit expected by the end of 2026. An initial drawdown began in 2025.

Asked about growing international pressure on non-state armed groups in the region such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah, part of Iran’s so-called Axis of Resistance created to counter US and Israeli influence in the Middle East, Sudani says: “There is time enough, God willing. The situation here is different than Lebanon.”