The United States and Iraq are on the verge of reaching a landmark agreement that would see the gradual withdrawal of American-led coalition forces from the Middle Eastern nation, according to Report, which cites the Emirati newspaper The National.
According to Jawad al-Bulani, a member of the Iraqi delegation in Washington, both sides are at the "final stage" of concluding the deal, with the shared understanding that the mission of these troops is nearing its end.
Sources close to the Iraqi government have revealed that Baghdad and Washington have agreed to commence a partial withdrawal of American troops stationed in Iraq as part of the coalition mission. However, some international and American forces will remain in the country under new security agreements, potentially tasked with training Iraqi security structures.
The presence of coalition troops at the Al-Harir airbase in the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan remains a point of contention. The US maintains that their presence is crucial for coordinating operations against the remnants of the "Islamic State" terrorist group in Syria. Conversely, Iraqi authorities argue that they did not consent to this arrangement when the international coalition contingent was initially deployed in 2014.