Iraqi Prime Minister to Visit Washington for Talks on US Troop Withdrawal

(Patria) - President Joe Biden will welcome the Iraqi Prime Minister on April 15 for talks on the presence of US troops, the White House announced on Friday, as tensions ease after US clashes with pro-Iranian militias. This will mark Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's first trip to Washington since taking office in October 2022, AFP reported.

Sudani has in the past called for the withdrawal of US forces, deployed nearly ten years ago as part of the campaign to defeat the extremist group Islamic State, also known as ISIS, which seized large swathes of Iraq and Syria.

Biden and Sudani will discuss "our shared commitment to the enduring defeat of ISIS and the evolution of the military mission," the White House said in a statement.

Sudani's office said they would discuss "the future of the relationship" between Iraq and the United States after the fight against extremists.

Tensions have risen amid the Israel-Hamas war with Iran-linked armed groups carrying out a series of attacks on US positions in the Middle East, as well as on Israel's main ally. The United States responded after three American soldiers stationed in the Jordanian desert were killed in a drone attack in late January. In a US drone strike in Baghdad, Abu Baqir al-Saadi, a senior commander of Kataeb Hezbollah, whom the US military accused of planning and participating in attacks on US forces, was killed. Iraq, hoping not to be caught in US-Iranian animosity, protested the strike.

Tensions have eased between the United States and Iraq, which have continued talks on the future of the anti-jihadist coalition. Iraqi authorities have expressed hope for the establishment of a timeline for reducing the presence of US forces.

Both Biden and Donald Trump, who seeks to return to the White House in the November elections, generally oppose prolonged troop deployments abroad, with Biden completing the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan in 2021, where the Taliban quickly took control.

The United States has about 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in neighboring Syria as part of the coalition. Iran has significant political influence in Baghdad. Its Iraqi allies dominate parliament and have appointed the current government.