ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on Sunday said that the country still needs the presence of foreign forces to assist in combating Islamic State (ISIS) remnants, adding that it is possible for Baghdad to have favorable relations with both Tehran and Washington.
“We think that we need the foreign forces,” the Iraqi premier told the Wall Street Journal in an exclusive interview, adding that the “elimination of ISIS needs some more time.”
The PM’s statement comes despite repeated demands from Iran-backed political groups in Iraq calling for terminating the presence of the foreign forces, including from within the Coordination Framework -of which Sudani is a member-.
“We demand the immediate exit of all foreign combat forces and the achievement of full national sovereignty,” said Hadi al-Amiri, head of the Fatih Alliance, earlier this month, adding that Iraqi security forces have proved themselves to be eligible and ready to preserve the country’s security without the help of foreign forces.
Sudani met with Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander General Michael "Erik" Kurilla in December, stressing the need to continue military cooperation between Washington and Baghdad.
The global coalition against ISIS was formally established in October 2014, after ISIS took control of vast swathes of territories in Iraq and Syria. Consisting of 79 nations and five international organizations, the US-led coalition seeks to ensure ISIS’ “enduring defeat.”
The US security relationship with Iraq fully transitioned into an advising and assisting role in December 2021, but the US forces to carry out unilateral operations against ISIS in Syria.
The Iraqi premier told WSJ that Baghdad strives for strong relations with the Washington, despite the country’s relations with US rivals Iran, also revealing plans to send a high-level Iraqi delegation to the US capital next month.
“I don’t see this as an impossible matter, to see Iraq have a good relationship with Iran and the U.S.”
Speaking of US President Joe Biden, the Iraqi PM said that Biden is “different from other presidents in that he knows the situation in Iraq completely.”
Sudani headed a high-level delegation visit to Berlin on Friday, meeting with Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with German company Siemens to improve Iraq’s energy sector.
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