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Iraq Marks 'Sovereignty Days' as Last US Troops Withdraw

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Iraq holds four 'Sovereignty Days' as the last US troops exit under a Wednesday deadline, while PM Ali al-Zaidi pushes to disarm militias by June 2027.

Iraq is preparing to observe four national "Sovereignty Days" to mark the complete withdrawal of United States troops from the country, closing a foreign military presence that stretched across more than two decades. The holiday underscores the symbolic weight of the departure and formalizes an exit confirmed by a withdrawal deadline that fell on Wednesday.

That deadline affirmed the exodus of the few hundred remaining US soldiers, who had been serving in advisory roles as part of a coalition campaign against ISIL (ISIS). The coalition operation, known as "Operation Inherent Resolve," was first launched in 2015. The last troops leave a country that has stayed relatively stable since the territorial defeat of ISIL in 2017, even as conflict and insecurity persisted along its borders.

The withdrawal plan predates Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, but it aligns with his broader effort to reassert the authority of the Iraqi state. Central to that agenda is a drive to disarm all militias in the country by June 2027, including several powerful pro-Iran groups that have carried out attacks across the region during the US-Israeli war with Iran.

Speaking last week at the United Nations General Assembly, al-Zaidi said his government was "striving to ensure that the state is the ultimate decision-maker in matters of peace and war, and that weapons and tools of power remain in the hands of its constitutional institutions." He framed the end of the foreign military mission as a turning point in Iraq's foreign relationships.

"With the end of the international coalition's mission in Iraq, we are moving our relationship with our strategic partners to a new phase, moving from military cooperation to economic and development cooperation in service of our common interests," al-Zaidi told the assembly.

A move to weaken the militias

Analysts read the US departure as part of a calculated effort by al-Zaidi to erode the standing of Iraq's most influential armed groups. Douglas Silliman, a former US ambassador to Iraq and Kuwait, said the withdrawal appears designed to "politically weaken" militias, including those tied to Iran.

Those groups have long cited the presence of US forces, along with other foreign actors such as Turkiye, as a core justification for holding on to their weapons and maintaining independent chains of command. Removing the American troops strips away one of the arguments they have relied on.

"The prime minister is clearly trying to build a political case to Iraqis that these forces that are more beholden to Iran, and have used weapons without government authorisation, no longer have a political reason to have those weapons," said Silliman, who now serves as president of the Arab Gulf States Institute.

The response from the armed groups is far from settled. Some militias have already signaled that they will refuse to surrender their arsenals, setting up a potential confrontation with the government over the June 2027 disarmament target.

A high-stakes gamble

The strategy carries significant risks. Silliman described it as a high-stakes gambit that could leave space for Iran to expand its influence inside Iraq and could open the door to a damaging domestic standoff if the disarmament push meets resistance.

The withdrawal also introduces new friction with Washington. If Iraq-based groups continue to strike US assets after the troop exit, Iraq could face renewed American pressure, complicating al-Zaidi's attempt to reset the relationship around trade and development rather than defense.

"It's going to be a very difficult series of decisions," Silliman said, pointing to the choices ahead for both the armed factions and the government. "Both for the militias and for Prime Minister al-Zaidi and his defence team."

How the government manages the aftermath of the coalition's departure will shape Iraq's security for years to come. The country has held together in the period since ISIL's 2017 defeat, but the removal of foreign troops shifts responsibility for that stability squarely onto Iraqi institutions at a moment of regional turmoil.

Iraq US troop withdrawal, Sovereignty Days Iraq, Ali al-Zaidi, Operation Inherent Resolve, Iraq militia disarmament, pro-Iran militias Iraq, Iraq ISIL coalition, Iraq sovereignty

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