Iraq, pressure on the US for the withdrawal of the marines. But there is a great fear –

An Iraqi government delegation is expected in Washington to discuss the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. Baghdad has been pushing for months, wanting the Marines to leave the country by the end of the year, but Washington warns against a return of ISIS. The American Centcom Command has in fact announced that the attacks carried out by members of the caliphate were 153 in 2024, double compared to 2023. After years in the dark, the group is reorganizing to return to the attack and establish a caliphate and can currently count on around 2,500 men. Also in 2024, American forces, in coordination with the Iraqi military, carried out 196 operations, killed 44 terrorists (including 8 leaders), and arrested another 166. The US basically considers the job unfinished and fears that ISIS will exploit the precarious conditions of the facilities where the terrorists are held in northern Syria.

Washington insists that the countries of origin accept the return of foreign fighters, whose presence makes the management of detention centers, in the hands of the Kurdish YPG forces, more difficult and dangerous. At the end of last year, at the request of the Iraqi government of Prime Minister Shia al Sudani, the US and Iraq began discussing the withdrawal of US troops, present on Iraqi soil at an invitation from Baghdad issued at a time when the Islamic State was expanding. A first round of meetings took place in January, a second summit took place in February, but the situation in the Middle East has not favored dialogue.

Pro-Iranian militias, particularly Kataib Hezbollah, have repeatedly attacked American positions in the country. The Marines have responded by carrying out targeted actions that have killed commanders of the militias supported by Tehran. A possible abandonment of Iraq by the Marines could in fact pave the way for Iran, which at that point would have a free hand to increase its influence in the country.