Why it is in the news
On 30 September 2026, the Pentagon, through chief spokesman Sean Parnell, declared the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq complete: the last forces left the air base at Erbil, in the Kurdistan Region, meeting the deadline agreed in 2024 and ending the 12-year anti-ISIS campaign, Operation Inherent Resolve. President Donald Trump called the Iraq involvement “a very expensive excursion into Hell”, while Iran and its allied militias hailed the exit as a victory for the “axis of resistance”.
The exam angle
Issue: The US has left Iraq 23 years after invading it. Does the withdrawal consolidate Iraqi sovereignty, or does it hand the balance of power to Iran-aligned armed groups at a moment of regional war?