President Donald Trump said the United States no longer believes it needs troops in Iraq, putting a date on the end of a mission that began with the 2003 invasion and later returned to fight ISIS.
Speaking during an Oval Office meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on Tuesday, Trump said the U.S.-led coalition mission was approaching its planned Sept. 30 conclusion and argued Baghdad could now stand on its own.
“We don’t think we need the military there anymore,” Trump said. “We’re there to help them. We’re there to protect them if need be. But we don’t think that’s going to be necessary.”
The comments mark a public break from a security-first U.S. role in Iraq toward a relationship the administration says will be built around investment and energy development. Trump said Iran had been weakened and described its military as “just a tiny fraction” of what it was four months ago.
Al-Zaidi backed the withdrawal timeline and said armed factions outside state control would lose their stated reason for operating once the coalition mission ends. He said Iraq’s own forces would be able to protect the country.
The Iraqi prime minister said restricting weapons to the state was “a decision, not an option.” He added: “The 30th of September, the U.S. forces would be out of Iraq. While U.S. companies will be inside Iraq.”
Under a 2024 agreement, Washington and Baghdad agreed to wind down the American-led coalition mission. About 2,500 U.S. troops remained in Iraq before the drawdown began in September 2025, far below the roughly 170,000 deployed during the height of the Iraq war in 2007.
Trump praised al-Zaidi during the meeting and said the Iraqi leader’s influence would reach “all throughout the Middle East.”
