U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made an unannounced trip to Iraq in a visit aimed at showing that Washington was committed to keeping its military presence there nearly 20 years after the U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein
Sudani later said in a statement that his government's approach is to maintain balanced relations with regional and international governments based on shared interests and respect for sovereignty, and that "the stability of Iraq is the key to the security and stability of the region".
Iranian-backed militia in Iraq have occasionally targeted U.S. forces and its embassy in Baghdad with rockets. The United States and Iran came close to full-blown conflict in 2020 after U.S. forces killed Iran's Revolutionary Guards commander General Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike. Former President George W. Bush’s administration cited its belief that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s government held weapons of mass destruction to justify the decision to invade Iraq. U.S. and allied forces later found that such stockpiles did not exist.
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