USA-NewsblogUS troops completely withdrawn from Iraq
September 30, 2026, 10:20 a.m.|
The Pentagon said the last soldiers had left the country. This ends a period of sometimes highly controversial US military operations in Iraq.
All developments in the news blog
In addition to our own research, we use material from the news agencies dpa, Reuters, epd, KNA and Bloomberg for our news blog.
Important updates
US troops completely withdrawn from Iraq
US Senate blocks resolution on West Bank violence
Videos about the midterms financed with taxpayer money – criticism of Trump from both parties
The Supreme Court is initially allowing deportations to third countries again
Report: White House urges EU to release diesel stocks
US troops completely withdrawn from Iraq
The US military has now completely withdrawn from Iraq. The last US soldiers have left the country, the Pentagon said. This ends a period of sometimes highly controversial US military operations in Iraq, which overthrew former ruler Saddam Hussein and fought the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS). The Iraqi government now bears primary responsibility for addressing the country's security challenges, the Pentagon said. These included the remaining IS structures and militias allied with Iran, which the US believes are undermining Iraqi sovereignty and stability in the region.
Iraq and the USA had agreed on the withdrawal in 2024. According to the Pentagon, around 2,500 US soldiers have been stationed in the country in recent years. Finally, they remained in Erbil in the Kurdish region, at a base near Baghdad airport and in the capital's government district, known as the Green Zone.
Since 2014, the USA has been fighting with allied states in Iraq and Syria against the terrorist militia IS, which was declared militarily defeated there in 2017 and 2019 respectively. IS cells remain active and occasionally carry out attacks. But the Sunni terrorist organization has lost the large areas it once controlled in both countries.
With the Iran war, the security situation in Iraq has deteriorated again. Washington and Tehran have repeatedly fought their conflict there in recent years and have been on the brink of war several times. In the ongoing Iran war there have been hundreds of attacks, including on US facilities and soldiers in Iraq, but also on targets of Kurdish forces.
Iran and forces loyal to Iran are likely to celebrate the withdrawal. From Wednesday there will be four official holidays in Iraq. These should be celebrated as “Independence Day” and public institutions should then remain closed.
In 2003, the US and its allies invaded Iraq despite international criticism to overthrow then-ruler Saddam Hussein. After a withdrawal in 2011, the US military returned to fight IS in 2014 at the request of the Iraqi government.
US Senate blocks resolution on West Bank violence
Republicans in the US Senate have blocked a Democratic push that would have required President Donald Trump's administration to report on increasing violence in the occupied West Bank. This also involves the deaths of US citizens. Senators voted against the resolution Tuesday by a vote of 51-47. The vote fell largely along party lines and is seen as the latest sign of tensions between US Democrats and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government over its treatment of the Palestinians.
The resolution would have required the US State Department to report to Congress on killings of US citizens by Israeli settlers or security forces in the West Bank and to assess the human rights situation. While the resolution would not have directly led to a reduction in aid to Israel, a lack of government reporting could have resulted in restrictions.
Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen, lead sponsor of the push, argued it was overdue to examine human rights in the West Bank, including the deaths of nine Americans since 2022. “It is our responsibility to ensure that recipients of U.S. taxpayer dollars act in accordance with our laws and values,” he said. Republicans accused Democrats of trying to score political points while Israel was threatened with a conflict with Iran seven months after the start of a conflict.
Violence by Jewish settlers against Palestinians has increased sharply this year. Some Democrats and a few Republicans have also called for a cut in military aid to Israel because of the war in Gaza.
Lucia Geier
Trump on North Korea's nuclear weapons: Kim is my friend
According to the US President's repeated demands, Iran should never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon - when it comes to North Korea, however, Donald Trump is much more understanding. When asked by a journalist in Washington why Iran was not allowed to have nuclear weapons but North Korea was, Trump said that leader Kim Jong-un was his friend. “He has nuclear capabilities, extensive, quite extensive nuclear capabilities,” the US president said of Kim. But: "As long as I'm there, he'll be fine. And you know why? Because he respects me and likes me."
Although Pyongyang always emphasizes the good personal relationship between Kim and Trump, who met several times during the US President's first term in office, it has not yet responded to the US President's concrete offers for talks. Most recently, Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said that Kim had “good memories and feelings” towards Trump. At the same time, she rejected all calls for the denuclearization of her country as “unrealistic”. The leadership in Pyongyang has not yet shown any concrete willingness to hold a new summit with Trump, as the US President has publicly expressed on several occasions.
In the deadlocked negotiations between Washington and Tehran, Trump repeatedly insists that Iran should not have nuclear weapons. The country's nuclear program is one of the key points of contention between the two warring parties. The second major point of contention remains the blocked Strait of Hormuz, one of the most important trade routes for global oil trade.
Videos about the midterms financed with taxpayer money – criticism of Trump from both parties
A few weeks before the US midterm elections, several government-sponsored videos with messages from President Donald Trump have caused a stir. Democrats described the videos as election advertising, and politicians from Trump's Republicans also expressed criticism. Tax money cannot be used for election advertising in the USA. The White House rejected the criticism.
The videos are primarily staged as an anti-communism message. One resembles a Trump election commercial from 2024. Trump speaks of the “final battle” in the black and white video. “Communists, Marxists and fascists will be driven out.” In another, a choir in the background sings the words “Love me” over and over again. Trump's voice can be heard: "America will never be a communist country." The video says: “Funded by the US government”.
The Democratic minority leader in the US Senate, Chuck Schumer, spoke of a “corrupt use of American tax dollars”. Trump aired a partisan election commercial on several channels during prime time that US taxpayers paid for, Schumer said in the Senate.
Some Republican senators also expressed criticism. Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Trump's message should not be funded by taxpayer money, according to The Hill newspaper. Republican Mike Rounds made similar comments: “I think they need to rethink that strategy,” he said. According to CNN, the White House said the videos were “clearly not election advertising.” Rather, these are campaigns to educate the public. The Wall Street Journal wrote that the spots had aired nearly 90 times nationwide by Sunday evening alone,
The Supreme Court is initially allowing deportations to third countries again
The US Supreme Court has initially allowed President Donald Trump's government to deport migrants to third countries without prior hearings. The Supreme Court granted an emergency motion from the Justice Department, suspending a federal judge's ruling that the practice was illegal. The three liberal justices on the nine-member, conservative-dominated court voted against the decision. The Supreme Court plans to hear the case in a main hearing in December and then make a final judgment.
The regulation is part of Trump's planned mass crackdown on illegal immigration. Since its introduction last year, more than 25,000 migrants have been deported to 29 countries, most of them to Mexico, according to human rights groups. A federal judge in Boston halted the practice in February after a class-action lawsuit from civil rights groups, saying it violated the Constitution's right to due process. This deprives migrants of the opportunity to point out impending dangers in the destination country. The US Department of Justice, however, stated in its urgent application that the deportations were essential to, among other things, get serious criminal foreigners out of the country.
In addition to Mexico, the previous deportation destinations also include politically unstable countries such as South Sudan, Uganda and Liberia. The plaintiffs accused the government of ignoring the dangers to those affected. Some deportees were illegally returned to their home countries by third countries from which the USA had previously granted them protection. Others were beaten, sexually abused or imprisoned. UN human rights experts called on the US government on Monday to stop the deportations. Children and women in particular are at increased risk of abuse and torture.
Report: White House urges EU to release diesel stocks
According to insiders, the White House is urging the European Union to reduce its emergency diesel stocks. Behind this is the desire to reduce global prices, two people familiar with the process told the Reuters news agency. President Donald Trump and his administration are exploring a number of options to reduce fuel costs before the November midterm elections. The sharp rise in diesel prices in the USA has become a political problem for Trump and the Republicans, especially in agricultural states where the fuel is of great importance for agriculture, truck traffic and the manufacturing sector.
Carim Soliman
Trump denies offering arms to China
US President Donald Trump has denied an alleged offer to Chinese President Xi Jinping to sell weapons to China. He contradicted the words of the US ambassador to China. “I’ve never heard of that,” Trump said in the White House in response to a question from a journalist and explained: “We haven’t discussed it.” He would have to ask Ambassador David Perdue about it.
Perdue had previously spoken in a television interview about a corresponding offer from Trump to Xi. Trump repeatedly says that the USA sells weapons to people all over the world, the diplomat said on the US broadcaster Fox News on Sunday (local time). “He actually asked President Xi at one point if he wanted to buy some,” Perdue said.
Beijing reacted cautiously. China is strengthening its defense capability based on its needs, said Foreign Office spokesman Guo Jiakun in Beijing. The People's Republic is committed to maintaining world peace and stability. China's Foreign Office did not go into any details - Perdue also did not provide any further information about when exactly Trump made the offer and how Xi responded to it.
Selling weapons to China is likely to cause uncertainty among US partners. Washington is providing military support to a number of states in East Asia that are under pressure from China. Independently governed Taiwan, which Beijing counts as part of the territory of the People's Republic of China and wants to bind it to itself - if necessary with military action, is particularly under pressure.
Washington's regular arms deliveries to Taiwan have long been a thorn in Beijing's side. Another package worth several billion US dollars is currently pending. Perdue reiterated the US stance on the Taiwan dispute on Fox News. “We neither advocate independence nor advocate coercion,” he said, referring to the US government’s One China policy. Washington therefore neither supports independence for Taiwan nor China's threatening behavior.
Date reached for US import ban on Canadian goods
In the customs dispute between the USA and Canada, the deadline set by US President Donald Trump for new import bans has been reached. Several of Trump's decrees dated September 8th stipulate that from this Tuesday (local time) a number of dairy products, alcoholic beverages and motorcycles from Canada may no longer be imported into the United States. A high-ranking government representative said the goods were worth a single-digit billion dollar range.
The announced import bans are a further escalation in the tough trade dispute between the two neighbors. The USA initially imposed tariffs of 50 percent on Canadian goods worth 27.6 billion Canadian dollars in August. At the beginning of September, Canada responded with counter tariffs of 15, 25 or 50 percent on US products with the same total value. On the day the Canadian measures came into force, Trump ordered the import bans that were now pending.
Trump justifies his tariffs, among other things, by saying that Canada has been “exploiting” the United States for years. He claimed that his country did not rely on trade with its neighbor. Canada is currently the United States' second-largest trading partner, according to U.S. data. On Monday, Trump suggested that the Canadian government would give in in three to four weeks and want an agreement.
The trade dispute began shortly after Trump returned to the White House in early 2025. The US imposed tariffs on Canadian goods, K
