NATO Removes Hundreds of Personnel From Iraq Amid Iran War

NATO has pulled all of its personnel out of Iraq because of the war in Iran.

“I would like to thank the Republic of Iraq and all the Allies who assisted in the safe relocation of NATO personnel from Iraq,” Supreme Allied Commander Europe Gen. Alexus Grynkewich said.

The final staffers who are part of NATO Mission Iraq, which started in the country in October 2018, left Iraq on March 20.

Iraq is directly to the west of Iran, where the conflict in Iran kicked off on Feb. 28 when the United States and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury.

“I would also like to thank the dedicated men and women of NATO Mission Iraq, who continued their mission throughout this period,” Grynkewich said. “They are true professionals.”

NATO Mission Iraq will continue from the Joint Force Command Naples in Italy.

The group is a non-combat mission aimed at giving Iraq tools to help it stabilize the country, fight terrorism, and prevent the return of the terrorist group ISIS.

U.S. President Donald Trump called NATO allies “cowards” on March 20 as he criticized their lack of support for the war against the Iranian regime.

“Without the U.S.A., NATO IS A PAPER TIGER!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “They didn’t want to join the fight to stop a Nuclear Powered Iran. Now that fight is Militarily WON, with very little danger for them, they complain about the high oil prices they are forced to pay, but don’t want to help open the Strait of Hormuz.”

The March 20 announcement was made one day after top officials in the U.S. War Department confirmed that the United States was striking Iran-aligned militia groups in Iraq.

“AH-64s ​have been striking ​against Iranian-aligned militia groups to make sure ​that we ​suppress any threat in ‌Iraq ⁠against U.S. forces or U.S. interests,” Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a March 19 press briefing.

War Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the decision to expand the conflict into Iraq, saying that the Iranian regime has a mission to “kill Americans in Iraq.”

On March 12, six U.S. airmen were killed when their KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refueling aircraft crashed over western Iraq.

The flight crew was identified as Maj. John A. Klinner, 33; Capt. Ariana G. Savino, 31; Capt. Seth R. Koval, 38; Capt. Curtis J. Angst, 30; Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, 34; and Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons, 28.

The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad urged all American citizens to immediately exit Iraq on March 14, suggesting that terrorists affiliated with Iran were encouraging and conducting attacks on U.S. citizens and people associated with the United States throughout Iraq.

The embassy warned U.S. citizens to stay away from the embassy because of the risk of missiles, drones, and rockets in Iraqi airspace.

The State Department first issued a “Level 4: Do Not Travel Advisory” on March 2 because of terrorism, kidnapping, armed conflict, civil unrest, and the U.S. government’s limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in Iraq.