Iran’s Guards hail US withdrawal from Iraq as ‘historic victory’

Iran's Revolutionary Guards hailed the United States' withdrawal from Iraq as a "historic victory" on Thursday, criticizing two decades of American occupation for failing to bring security and instead fostering insecurity, terrorism, and instability in the region. The Guards praised the "proud nation of Iraq, the united front of the Islamic Resistance, and the revolutionary fighters of the Islamic world" for this achievement.

The US-led coalition that had been present since 2014 to combat the Islamic State (IS) formally ended its mission and withdrew from Iraq on Wednesday. Despite IS being defeated in Iraq in 2017 and Syria in 2019, coalition forces remained to tackle its remnants. The Guards emphasized that American presence had only served to create insecurity, terrorism, and instability in the Middle East.

Iraq and the United States had agreed in 2024 to wind down the coalition's mission, with coalition troops gradually withdrawing from bases across the country, confining their presence to the autonomous northern Kurdistan region. The Iraqi government views the coalition's departure as removing the rationale for powerful Iran-backed militant factions to retain their weapons.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi announced June 30 as a new deadline for armed factions to hand over their weapons to the state.