The Trump administration is planning to end security assistance to Iraq's Kurdistan region, sparking concerns about Iran's growing influence and the potential for a power vacuum. The US Department of Defense has informed leaders of the semi-autonomous region that it is not planning to renew an expiring agreement that provides security assistance to the Peshmerga, the Kurdish security force.

The Peshmerga, which has approximately 180,000 troops in Iraqi Kurdistan, received $61m (£45m) in the fiscal year 2026 for weapons, military training and stipends through the Pentagon's counter-IS programme. The request raised alarm bells in Iraqi Kurdistan, but authorities had held out hope that the US would renew the funding through an extension of the current deal.

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Background Context

The memorandum of understanding between the Pentagon and the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) is set to expire on 30 September, the same day the US and other nations are withdrawing their last remaining troops from Iraq. The troop withdrawal will formally end the international military campaign against IS, in which the Peshmerga fought alongside coalition troops to end the jihadist group's control of parts of Iraq and Syria.

The recent discussions around Kurdish security were part of larger conversations between the US, the Iraqi government and KRG over the upcoming troop withdrawal. That date was set under a 2024 agreement between Washington and Baghdad to withdraw the US troops that remain in Iraq from the campaign against IS.

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Al-Zaidi, who was elected in May, met Trump at the White House, as well as Hegseth and members of Congress.

Timeline

"October 1 will mark a new day in the trajectory of the Iraqi state, as Iraq will be free of any foreign military presence," al-Zaidi's office said in a statement at the time.

The Trump administration is planning to cut off military aid to a key Middle East ally that helped the US defeat the Islamic State group (IS) and is now facing punishing attacks from Iran, according to four sources familiar with the matter.

The US Department of Defense has informed leaders of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in recent meetings that the administration is not planning to renew an expiring agreement that provides security assistance to the Peshmerga, the Kurdish security force.