Officials on Friday presented a timeline for the end of the U.S. military mission in Iraq, but stopped short of a withdrawal, according to multiple reports.

Although the Biden administration withdrew troops with the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, the United States continues to have a strong presence in neighboring Arab countries, including Iraq and Syria. Officials provided further details on the Iraqi government's announcement two weeks ago that the United States would withdraw most of its troops from the country by 2026, pushing back on Baghdad's specific claims and calling for a more flexible schedule. I left my sexuality behind. , According to In the Washington Post. (Related: Republican lawmakers move to disparage Blinken after he skips Afghanistan withdrawal hearing)

The U.S. currently has about 2,500 troops in Iraq, but Iraqi officials say most of them will disappear within the next two years to provide counterterrorism capabilities against Iranian-backed terrorist groups. He said that only a few people are left. According to the paper, this area. But U.S. officials said Friday that the real goal is a “sustainable security partnership” with Iraq.

“We want to emphasize that this is an evolution of the military mission in Iraq,” one of the officials said. read out loud From the State Department. “Let me be clear: the United States is not withdrawing from Iraq.”

The official said the number of troops in Iraq is “very likely to change,” but did not provide specific numbers or a timeline, the official said in a statement.

In the first step of an “evolution,” the U.S. plans to end its military mission in Iraq by September 2025, the paper said. Meanwhile, the United States and Iraq agreed to keep 900 troops deployed to Syria with support from the Iraqi army.

“There will be some changes to our locations, but decisions have not yet been finalized,” another official said Friday.

The newspaper said the official's comments signaled the United States' desire to maintain some flexibility in the ongoing negotiations. The U.S. presence in Iraq is a contentious and complex issue, so the U.S. government may be seeking to continue negotiations before the plan is implemented.

U.S. forces stationed across the Middle East have come under significant attack since last year, when Hamas invaded Israel and sparked a broader regional war.

“We do not intend to discuss plans regarding specific base locations or troop numbers,” one official said Friday, according to a State Department statement. “Right now, it's in the planning stages, it's under consideration. And until those decisions are made, that is, until those decisions are made, specific information about numbers and locations on things that haven't been decided yet. will not be provided.”

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