Iraq prepares legal grounds for expulsion of US forces

By Aref Yousef and Hamdi Yildiz

BAGHDAD (AA) - Iraq is in the process of preparing legal steps for the removal of U.S. troops that were stationed in the country to fight Daesh/ISIS, former Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi said Sunday.

In a statement, the government said Abdul-Mahdi spoke with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian by phone, informing him of the move.

They also discussed the future of relations between Iraq and the international coalition against Daesh/ISIS and the war on terrorism.

The talks came after Iraq’s parliament voted unanimously Sunday to expel all foreign troops from the country.

The move comes after Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards' elite Quds force, was assassinated early Friday in a U.S. drone strike outside Baghdad International Airport. Also killed was Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the senior commander of Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi force, and eight others.

Soleimani’s death marked a dramatic escalation in tensions between the U.S. and Iran, which have often been at a fever pitch since U.S. President Donald Trump chose in 2018 to unilaterally withdraw Washington from a 2015 nuclear pact world powers struck with Tehran.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who bestowed the country's highest honor on Soleimani last year, vowed "severe retaliation" in response to his killing.

The Pentagon accused Soleimani of approving an attack on the U.S. embassy earlier this week and of plans to carry out additional attacks on U.S. diplomats and service members in Iraq and the region.

*Writing by Burak Dag