President Biden and the Iraqi Prime Minister have agreed to change the nature of US military activity in Iraq, but military forces will remain in the country and not withdraw from it.

YONI BEN MENACHEM - Arab expert and Middle East analysist

U.S. President Joe Biden and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Khattami agreed at their White House meeting on July 26 to end US operational activities in Iraq by the end of the year, more than 18 years have passed since U.S. military troops were sent to Iraq.

"Our role in Iraq will be to be available, to continue to train, assist, help and deal with ISIS as needed, but we will no longer be, in the end of the year, in a war zone," Biden told reporters at a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister White House.

The move is seen as an attempt to help the Iraqi prime minister in the wake of growing pressure from Iran and pro-Iranian Shiite militias that continue to attack the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and the military bases where U.S. troops are staying using rockets and trapped UAVs. Iran presses that the Iraqi parliament's decision to end the presence of all foreign forces in Iraq be implemented immediately. All American soldiers from Iraq to the last of them.

Bottom line, U.S. military troops, according to the agreement between President Biden and Prime Minister Khatami, will not withdraw from Iraq.

There are currently 2,500 American troops in Iraq helping local forces fight against what remains of ISIS.

From the end of this year, American forces will no longer fight and will only engage in training and advising the Iraqi army. The change is not expected to have a significant impact because the U.S. military has long since shifted its focus to training Iraqi forces.