American forces withdrew from their remaining bases in Iraq on Wednesday, closing a 23-year chapter that cost 4,500 American lives — and Iran's Revolutionary Guard immediately published a letter telling U.S. voters to eject Trump's allies from Congress.
The neocon dream of remaking the Middle East is over, and good riddance. The question now is whether Washington can end these entanglements without letting Tehran — or any other foreign regime — fill the vacuum or dictate American politics.
The IRGC's 26-page letter, published Tuesday, urges Americans to "remove from power the evil, deceitful, and violent politicians who are responsible for America's current state" and reject U.S. support for Israel and military intervention abroad. Iran casts the Iraq withdrawal as a triumph for its "axis of resistance" of allied armed groups across the region. Al-Monitor reported the letter identifies issues that analysts say are working against Trump and Republicans ahead of November 3 congressional elections; France 24 barely mentioned it, focusing instead on fears of a security vacuum.
Both outlets agree on the stakes on the ground. The withdrawal, agreed under Biden in 2024 and carried out under Trump, raises concerns about emboldened Iranian proxies and a resurgent Islamic State. Iraqi analyst Jassim al-Bahadli warned that "security vacuums can be extremely dangerous." Baghdad-based political analyst Ahmed Younis told France 24 that Iran's proxies "may attempt to expand their role in shaping state policies and consolidating their presence within key institutions." Iraqi security officials say U.S. troops had been providing critical intelligence and surveillance on ISIS movements.
The withdrawal also comes amid a seven-month war between the U.S. and Iran that Trump launched alongside Israel. That conflict has drawn in Houthi rebels, Hezbollah, and Iraqi militias, and contributed to higher global fuel prices. The strategic Strait of Hormuz — through which 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas passed before the war — remains closed despite multiple ceasefire attempts. Qatar is again positioning itself as mediator, exchanging messages between the parties, but no deal to reopen Hormuz has materialized.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll from September 21 found just 17% of respondents approved Trump's handling of the cost of living — the top issue for November voters — and only 34% approved of the strikes on Iran. Trump campaigned on avoiding new wars and ending existing ones. The war with Iran has not delivered on that promise.
Seven of the 18 U.S. service members killed in the Iran conflict died in Iraq, the last an army sergeant killed during a controlled drone detonation near Erbil in July.
The bipartisan failure here is plain: a Republican president launched a war that a Democratic president's withdrawal agreement couldn't end. Both parties kept troops in Iraq for over two decades with nothing to show but dead Americans and a stronger Iran. Now the same foreign regime that chased us out wants to pick our Congress. The withdrawal is right. The war shouldn't have happened in the first place. And no letter from Tehran should tell an American how to vote — but the easiest way to make sure it doesn't matter is to stop giving foreign powers reasons to meddle by staying out of their sandbox.
