Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said that American officials are in contact with Iraqi authorities to resume US military operations, and that there are currently no plans to withdraw from Iraq.
Hoffman added during a press conference that the presence of US forces in Iraq is necessary to deploy NATO forces as part of the mission to combat the Islamic State and train the Iraqi army.
Meanwhile, the New York Times quoted US officials as saying that Washington resumed its joint military operations with Iraq on Wednesday, ending a ten-day hiatus after the killing of the commander of the Quds Force in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Major General Qassim Soleimani.
This development comes less than two weeks after the Iraqi parliament voted to remove American forces from the country.
Two military officials confirmed to the newspaper that the US military is seeking to resume operations against the Islamic State as soon as possible, with the goal of preventing any momentum or propaganda for the organization.
It was not clear if the Iraqi government agreed to resume operations with the American side, which was the decision maker to stop these operations.
The resigned Iraqi Prime Minister, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, had confirmed earlier that he was determined to proceed with the implementation of the Iraqi parliament’s decision to remove foreign forces from Iraq in the correct way.
He said that his government is currently working to ensure that appropriate timings are reached to schedule the removal of foreign forces from Iraq and to communicate with the parties concerned.