Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said Thursday that US forces are expected to maintain their presence in Iraq under the new administration of President Donald Trump as tension continues to spike in the Middle East region.
“I think my belief is that they will be there,” he said during a session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The top diplomat said that the complex geopolitical landscape of the Middle East has significantly evolved since Trump’s first term in office.
“The whole situation in the Middle East is different than the first, let’s say, Trump administration. Now, we are dealing with different challenges, and so I have the feeling that they will be in the area.”
There are currently about 2,500 US troops still in Iraq as part of the global coalition set up in 2014 against the ISIS (Daesh) terrorist group.
In September, the US officially announced that the mission of the US-led coalition against the Deash will be wrapping up “over the next twelve months, and no later than the end of September 2025, and transitioning to bilateral security partnerships in a manner that supports Iraqi forces and maintains pressure on ISIS.”
The Iraqi minister pointed out that Iraq’s relationship with the US is governed by a strategic framework agreement, which provides the basis for ongoing discussions and negotiations between the two nations.
“Our relationship with the American administration, is based on the strategical agreement which we have, and on the basis of that framework, we will continue our talks and negotiation with the American side on various fields,” Hussein stated.
Regarding the escalating tensions between the US and Iran, which directly impact Iraq, Hussein called for a de-escalation through diplomacy, highlighting that Iraq feels the repercussions of this tension more acutely than most.
“The tension between Washington and Tehran affects us directly, not indirectly. In fact, that’s why we are rather worried about the tension, and we hope that both sides will choose a different approach, and that’s the approach of once again negotiating,” he said.
The Iraqi minister said Iran seems open to dialogue with the US.
“But until now, I don’t see any signal from Washington that they are ready to negotiate with the Iranian side while the Iranians are giving that signal,” he added.
On Wednesday, Iraq expressed hope for reaching a new nuclear agreement with the Trump administration.
In 2018, Trump unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran during his first term in office and re-imposed sanctions on Tehran.