Published 48 minutes ago • loading... • Updated 23 minutes ago
Iran hails ‘expulsion’ of US from Iraq, says it marks beginning of broader regional withdrawal
The IRGC said the US exit was forced by Iraqi resistance and claimed Washington spent $4 trillion and lost about 5,000 troops in Iraq.
On Wednesday, the last US troops departed Erbil, ending a 12-year mission against Islamic State under a 2024 agreement between Baghdad and Washington.
Describing the withdrawal as an 'expulsion,' the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps cited Iraqi resistance and invoked the deaths of Qassem Soleimani, former commander of the IRGC's Quds Force, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
Claiming the US lost about 5,000 troops and spent $4tn over two decades, the IRGC characterized American presence as a source of regional insecurity and terrorism.
A US military official stated most troops would redeploy to Jordan, while Baghdad set a September 30 deadline for armed groups to surrender weapons, though the most powerful refused.
President Donald Trump described the withdrawal as orderly, calling the deployment 'a very expensive excursion into Hell,' while the IRGC predicted Iraqis would end US interference in the oil sector.
The Guardians of the Revolution, a powerful armed force of the Islamic Republic of Iran, have defined the withdrawal from Iraq, a neighbouring country, of US forces deployed for over a decade to fight the Isl... (ANSA)