ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on Wednesday overnight directed the bolstering of Iraq’s air defenses ahead of the US-led coalition’s withdrawal scheduled for late September, his office said. 

Zaidi carried out an overnight visit to the main operations center of the Iraqi Air Defense Command in Baghdad and “underscored the importance of strengthening the capabilities of the Iraqi air defense systems to assume full responsibility for protecting Iraq’s airspace and sovereignty,” a statement from his office said. 

The measures come as part of “the implementation of the Iraq-US agreement stipulating the conclusion of the US-led coalition’s mission and completion of their full withdrawal by September 30,” the statement asserted. 

The visit came hours after Zaidi met Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), in Baghdad and reaffirmed commitment to the September 30 deadline for US-led coalition forces to leave the country. 

“The prime minister stated that October 1 will mark a new day in the path of the Iraqi state, as Iraq will be free of any foreign military presence, will exercise full national sovereignty over its territory, and will continue building its security and military capabilities,” said a statement from his office.

The US-led coalition was brought to Iraq in 2014 at the invitation of Baghdad to help repel the lightning advance of Islamic State (ISIS) jihadists across swathes of the country. 

However, the capabilities of ISIS have been gradually weakened since their territorial defeat in Iraq in 2017, and the presence of American troops has drawn vast condemnation from Iraqi political forces and armed groups, especially those who are loyal to Iran. 

The Iraqi government, led by Zaidi, is also pushing to restrict weapons to the state and has set September 30 as the deadline for armed groups to hand over all weapons. 

Zaidi has been particularly vocal about the disarmament initiative, asserting that the armed groups must lay down their weapons, especially as US-led coalition troops, who were brought to help defeat ISIS, are set to also complete their withdrawal by the end of September. 

The disarmament initiative in Iraq is heavily backed by the US, which has long pushed for those groups – many of whom have attacked American bases in the region – to be disarmed.