Readout of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's Meeting With Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi

Today at the Pentagon following meetings in the Oval Office, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth met with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi to discuss the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, the end of the Operation INHERENT RESOLVE mission and the future of the U.S.-Iraq relationship.

Secretary Hegseth reaffirmed the United States' intent to fully implement the September 2024 Joint Statement Announcing the Timeline for the End of the Military Mission of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in Iraq, ending the Operation INHERENT RESOLVE mission by September 30. The United States, Iraq, and Coalition partners have achieved tremendous success in defeating ISIS and now the Iraqi Security Forces, including the Peshmerga and other Iraqi Kurdistan Region security forces, will lead the fight against terrorists in Iraq.

Secretary Hegseth made clear that building a normal U.S.-Iraq bilateral defense relationship requires a secure environment free from terrorist coercion. Following more than 600 attacks on U.S. citizens and facilities in Iraq by Iran-aligned terrorist militias between February and April 2026, the Secretary welcomed the Iraq-led initiative to disarm these malign actors and to assert Iraq's sovereignty and the supremacy of its democratic leadership over all armed actors.

The two leaders also discussed how a sovereign, stable, and strong Iraq paves the way for mutually beneficial commercial and defense cooperation. Secretary Hegseth and Prime Minister Zaidi agreed to continue to work together, and senior U.S. and Iraqi defense officials met subsequently for detailed discussions.