This account treats the date above as the time of the underlying event, not as a publication date. It is confined to what the cited reporting established at that point. Details that were uncertain, attributed, provisional or still developing remain presented on those terms, and no later result is assumed.
What the reporting established
Although we don’t think that’s going to be necessary.” Speaking through an interpreter, al-Zaidi stated “U.S. companies will be inside Iraq.” The Pentagon stated in a subsequent statement that it was reaffirming a 2024 agreement with Iraq to end its mission against IS fighters.
President Donald Trump, standing alongside Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi at the White House, stated “we don’t think we need the military there anymore” and noted Iraq’s growing relationships with oil companies. “The relationship is a whole big relationship where we don’t need the military,” Trump stated.
(AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military will leave Iraq by the end of September, American and Iraqi authorities stated Tuesday, following a 23-year presence that started with the 2003 invasion against Saddam Hussein and ended with much smaller operations against the Islamic State group.
(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Iraq’s Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi hold a meeting at the Pentagon Tuesday, July 14, 2026, in Washington. (Al Drago/Pool via AP) President Donald Trump meets with Iraq’s Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, July 14, 2026, in Washington.
Military will leave Iraq by the end of September following a 23-year presence that started with the 2003 invasion against Saddam Hussein and ended with much smaller operations against the Islamic State group. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, right, welcomes Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, to the Pentagon, during a ceremony, Tuesday, July 14, 2026, in Washington.
Scope of the record
The record is most useful when read as a contemporaneous snapshot. It identifies the central development, the people or institutions directly involved and the consequences described by the available reporting. Statements made by officials, witnesses or other parties are not converted into independent findings; their source and status remain material to understanding the account.
The evidence also sets limits on the conclusions that can safely be drawn. It does not support speculation about motives, responsibility or subsequent outcomes beyond what was explicitly reported. Figures and operational descriptions can be revised as fuller information emerges, so the numbers and characterisations here belong to the dated record rather than a final historical tally.
