{"id":273373,"date":"2026-09-01T18:49:07","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T18:49:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/273373\/"},"modified":"2026-09-01T18:49:07","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T18:49:07","slug":"us-to-replace-baghdad-charge-daffaires-as-iraq-faces-security-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/273373\/","title":{"rendered":"US to replace Baghdad charg\u00e9 d\u2019affaires as Iraq faces security challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"

US Charg\u00e9 d\u2019Affaires Joshua Harris is ending his year-long appointment in Baghdad. He was appointed last August. Asharq al Awsat noted that \u201cpolitical circles expect former US Ambassador to Yemen Steven Fagin to become Washington\u2019s new charg\u00e9 d\u2019affaires in Baghdad. Many describe him as an expert on Iraq<\/a> and the wider region, particularly Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n

The change in diplomats in Baghdad comes at an important time. US troops who are part of the anti-ISIS coalition are expected to complete their withdrawal by September 30. This would be at least the second time the US has left Iraq since 2003. The US also left in 2011. The ISIS invasion in 2014 led to the US returning. Now the US is leaving again. This leaves concerns for US friends in Iraq, particularly in the autonomous Kurdistan Region.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the US is also in a conflict with Iran<\/a>. The US has been pressuring Iraq to rein in Iranian-backed militia<\/a>s. The militias are supposed to disarm. However, the militias continue to put up roadblocks. Kataib Sayyid al Shuhada has created a list of conditions before it disarms. The head of the Badr Organization, one of the most powerful militias, has said that Iraq won\u2019t confront the militias, but instead the arrangement will continue peacefully. This likely means Baghdad won\u2019t disarm the groups.<\/p>\n

On August 27 Iraq\u2019s new prime minister Ali al Zaidi met with Harris. \u201cThe Prime Minister<\/a>, Mr. Ali Falih Al-Zaidi, received Mr. Joshua Harris, Charg\u00e9 d’Affaires of the United States Embassy in Iraq, on the occasion of the conclusion of his tenure,\u201d Zaidi\u2019s office said. \u201cDuring the meeting, the bilateral relations between Iraq and the United States were reviewed, along with ways to enhance joint cooperation in various fields and expand the fruitful partnership, in a manner that serves the mutual interests of the two countries and their friendly peoples.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iraq\u2019s Prime Minister\u2019s Office noted that he \u201cexpressed his appreciation for the efforts exerted by the American Charg\u00e9 d’Affaires during his tenure in Iraq, wishing him success and achievement in his forthcoming duties.\u201d The statement went on to say that \u201cfor his part, Mr. Harris expressed his thanks and appreciation to the Prime Minister and the efforts of the Iraqi government in developing joint economic cooperation and supporting the consolidation of security and stability in the region, affirming his country’s keenness to continue developing relations with Iraq, in a way that enhances the common interests between the two countries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asharq al Awsat noted that \u201cHarris took over after former US Ambassador Alina Romanowski, ushering in a diplomatic downgrade in a country that hosts one of Washington\u2019s largest embassies, sprawling for nearly two kilometers along the Tigris River in Baghdad.\u201d In addition, \u201cIraqi officials and experts told Asharq Al-Awsat that Baghdad-Washington ties could take a different course in the next phase, particularly as they become linked to US-Iranian relations.\u201d The US is monitoring the disarmament of the militias and whether their weapons will be under state authority. \u201cDespite optimism about the new prime minister and the clear support for him, Washington has concluded that the factions are not serious about handing over their weapons and are merely playing for time,\u201d the report quoted a source as saying.<\/p>\n

According to the US Department of State, Ambassador Steven Fagin has been US Ambassador to Yemen since 2022. He was previously Deputy Chief of Mission at the US. Embassy in Baghdad (2020-21) and also the Principal Officer at the US. Consulate General in Erbil (2018-20). As such, he has a lot of experience in Iraq. He also served as the main US diplomat at the Civil-Military Coordination Center, established in October 2025 as part of the US-backed peace plan for Gaza. He was also briefly Charg\u00e9 d\u2019Affaires in Baghdad from May to August 2025. In June reports said he was wrapping up his role as Ambassador to Yemen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"US Charg\u00e9 d\u2019Affaires Joshua Harris is ending his year-long appointment in Baghdad. He was appointed last August. Asharq…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":273374,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[14],"tags":[34913,1711,94,1330],"class_list":["post-273373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-iraq","tag-al-zaidi","tag-baghdad","tag-iraq","tag-state-department"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/117197285790024340","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=273373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273373\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/273374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=273373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=273373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=273373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}