Irak

As the US completes its military withdrawal from Iraq, Baghdad declares a new era of sovereignty. But as US troops leave, questions remain over militias, foreign forces and the country's future security.

The U.S. military formally ends a more than two-decade-long presence in Iraq this week.

Because of the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, Iraq cannot export enough oil to fund the country's huge public sector. Protests have already started. Will the Iran war destabilize Iraq again?

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi is facing a mounting political and security crisis as a September 30 deadline to restrict all weapons to state control approaches. … Kataib Hezbollah, an Iran-aligned Iraqi paramilitary group and one of the country’s most heavily armed factions, has explicitly rejected the government’s mandate, pledging instead to retain what it calls “resistance weapons” and further develop its arsenal. 

[…] The issue has become increasingly urgent because some of these groups, backed by Iran, are drawing Iraq into the regional conflict that Baghdad has sought to avoid.

Asaib Ahl al-Haq, one of Iraq’s most prominent and powerful Shiite political and military forces, said Tuesday it will form a committee to begin disengaging from the Popular Mobilization Forces and place its weapons under state control.

Iraq’s prime minister has told United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio that his country should not be used as a launchpad for attacks in the Middle East war, the Iraqi government said. This comes as several strikes were launched across Iraq on Tuesday, including one that hit a group affiliated with the mostly Shia Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF).

Iraq’s main candidate for the premiership Nouri al-Maliki on Wednesday denounced Washington’s “blatant interference,” after President Donald Trump threatened to end all support to the country if Maliki took the post.

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) is ending operations this month but support for the country will continue, Secretary-General António Guterres affirmed at the official closing ceremony in Baghdad on Saturday.

By the end of this year, the UN's special [political] mission to Iraq will conclude, and most US troops will have withdrawn. Some are celebrating Iraq's newfound sovereignty, others say international pressure remains.