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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By the end of this year, the UN's special [political] mission to Iraq will conclude, and most US troops will have withdrawn.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.

The recent parliamentary elections in Iraq mark a fitting end to the work of the UN Mission in the country, the Security Council heard on Tuesday.  The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, Mohammed Al Hassan, briefed members for the last time as the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) prepares to conclude its mandate on 31 December after more than two decades of service.

Iraqi election officials have announced preliminary results for Iraq’s parliamentary elections, showing traditional powers still dominate their regions.

Iraq’s parliamentary elections are set to take place on 11 November 2025. Yet despite the streets being adorned with campaign posters, there is little buzz in the air. Many Iraqis are expected to stay at home, having grown disillusioned with the ability of elections to deliver change in the two decades of democracy since the US-led regime change. 

The Council appointed Ralf Schröder asnew head of mission for the European Union Advisory Mission in Iraq (EUAM Iraq). He will take up his duties on 16 August 2025. Ralf Schröder is a high-ranked German police officer with 30 years of experience in the security sector, specialised in counterterrorism. 

The top UN official in Iraq reiterated his confidence in the resilience of the country’s people, and the determination of their leaders, in a briefing to the Security Council on Tuesday. … He provided updates on political, human rights and other developments over the past six months, and the Mission’s ongoing support to the authorities as it prepares to leave at the end of the year.

There have been significant developments in Iraq in recent months – which  has so far avoided being dragged into the widening Middle East conflict – but  corruption and other challenges persist, the new UN Special Representative for the country told the Security Council on Friday. 

[…] The act of counting the population could prove contentious, with the census expected to have profound implications for Iraq’s resource distribution, budget allocations and development planning.

The United States on Tuesday carried out a strike in Iraq in self-defense, U.S. officials told Reuters, as regional tensions rose after an Israeli airstrike in Beirut that Israel said killed Hezbollah's most senior commander.