US Says It’s Not Discussing Withdrawing From Iraq
The State Department on Wednesday said that at “no point” in recent talks with the Iraqi government has the US discussed the idea of withdrawing troops from Iraq.
The comments came in response to questions about reports saying that the US was planning to withdraw. Tasnim, an Iranian news agency, reported this week that the US and Iraq would announce plans for a withdrawal next month.
State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said that the talks with the Iraqi government had been focused on transitioning US involvement in Iraq from an international coalition to a “bilateral security partnership,” which would mean an open-ended US military presence.
