Iran gets US response as Washington pulls out of Iraq

• Tehran says it looks forward to restoring Islamabad MoU • Official says both sides largely agree on required steps but still disagree about the order in which to take them • US withdrawal from Iraq hailed as historic win • Trump says ‘time to go home’ after ‘victory’ BAGHDAD: The Iranian government claimed to have received a US response to its latest proposal to revive the collapsed ceasefire in the Gulf, while Trump insisted on Wednesday the US had “virtually total control” over the Strait of Hormuz. The official response was conveyed at a time when US-led coalition forces deployed in Iraq more than a decade ago concluded its mission, a move celebrated by all — each side claiming victory. About the control over Hormuz, Trump said over the past three days, “more oil has come out of the Hormuz Strait than at any time in the history” of the waterway. Earlier on Sunday when Trump said he had rejected the proposal, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran had not received a formal rejection. However, in a post on X on Wednesday, an Iranian government spokesperson said Araghchi had conveyed a US response to the Iranian government. Iran says its plan aims to restore an interim agreement, the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, which collapsed weeks after it was signed by both sides in June. Last week, Qatari mediators shuttled between US and Iranian envoys in New York on the sidelines of UNGA. An official briefed on the talks, who is not Iranian and spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the Qataris had briefed Araghchi on the US response when he stopped off in Doha on his way home from the US. According to the official, the sides largely agree on the steps that are needed but still disagree about the order in which to take them. Iran has been insisting to have its control over the strait, which runs past its coast, while also reiterating the demand for withdrawal of US deployment in the region. Operation concluded At the same time, US and Iraqi officials announced the withdrawal of the last American troops from bases in Iraq. Tehran views the pullout as a victory for its “axis of resistance” of allied groups, and a step towards its aim of driving US forces out of the region. Interestingly, Trump also hailed the withdrawal of US-led forces from Iraq as a “victory” for Washington. He added, “I had a choice to stay or to leave, and felt, without question, that it was time for America to go home! ” “Today, the US and our coalition partners formally concluded Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq, consistent with the 2024 US-Iraq joint statement and US national interests, ” the Pentagon said. Published in Dawn, October 1st, 2026

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