Trump calls Iraq pullout end of 'very expensive excursion into Hell' as Iran moves to fill the vacuum

From the Newshound archive · first published 30 September 2026 · last updated 1 October 2026.

The last US and British troops have departed Iraq, completing a drawdown that was negotiated in 2024 during the Biden administration but executed by Trump even as his government wages war against Iran. Trump hailed the exit as "a victory for the United States, Iraq, and a decisive victory over ISIS" at a White House ceremony, while Iran-backed factions cheered and analysts cautioned that a perilous security void now looms. Around 100 remaining UK personnel left Irbil alongside US forces, bringing Operation Inherent Resolve — more than a decade of counter-ISIS operations — to a formal close.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps called on Americans to vote Trump's congressional allies out of office as Tehran's proxy forces celebrated a US departure they had helped bring about.

Iraqi security analysts say the pullout may represent the country's gravest moment since ISIS took Mosul, with US-trained Iraqi forces still not considered capable of holding the line on their own.

Trump drew a parallel between Iraq and his ongoing confrontation with Iran, declaring 'we're getting the hell out of there' while pledging his Iran campaign would not drag on for 'twenty years' as he condemned the original invasion for having done.