U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Iraqi foreign minister Dr. Fuad Hussein at the State Department on Friday (July 23) ahead of discussions on the role of the U.S. military in Iraq.
The United States and Iraq are expected to formalize the end of Washington's combat mission in Iraq by the end of the year and continue the transition toward training and advising Iraqi forces, U.S. officials said on Thursday.
There are currently 2,500 U.S. troops in Iraq focusing on countering the remnants of Islamic State. The move is not expected to have a major impact since the United States has already moved toward focusing on training Iraqi forces.
President Joe Biden meets his Iraqi counterpart, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, in Washington next week.