The government of Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa Al Sudani has asked its citizens to express their opinion on the continued presence of the international coalition forces in the country.

Many Iraqis have received in the last two days a question via an (SMS) message on their mobile phones, which said: "Dear citizen.. Are you in favor of continuing the international coalition mission in Iraq?" A link was added to the message text to answer the question.

This short message constituted a poll that the Baghdad government is considering, to reveal the general trends in the country regarding the foreign military presence in it.

Although the message text indicates that its source is the "Iraqi Center for Opinion Measurement," its link leads to the government "Our" electronic services platform.

Deterioration of relations between Baghdad and the United States of America

The request comes at the height of the crisis in relations between Baghdad and the United States, which leads the coalition forces, as it recently launched a series of attacks on sites and leadership figures in armed factions, in response to attacks carried out by the latter against sites and camps where American forces are present in Iraq and Syria, in solidarity with Gaza.

Despite Baghdad's confirmation last week that it has started a process aimed at ending the mission of the international military coalition led by the United States in the country, the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) announced on Monday that it currently does not plan to withdraw its approximately 2,500 troops from Iraq.

Amid the tense situation after the Iraqi government renewed its commitment to the withdrawal of the international coalition forces from the country, and the Pentagon's announcement that there are currently no plans for such a step, the government requested the opinions of citizens.

It is noteworthy that after the US strike that targeted the Popular Mobilization Forces headquarters east of the capital Baghdad last Thursday, resulting in the deaths of leaders in the Al-Nujaba Movement, the Iraqi government renewed its insistence on the withdrawal of the international coalition forces from the country.

Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa Al Sudani said during his attendance at the memorial ceremony held on the fourth anniversary of the killing of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy head of the Popular Mobilization Forces, that the justifications for the presence of coalition forces on Iraqi soil have ended.

He criticized the coalition's repeated attacks on Popular Mobilization sites, emphasizing that the latter represents an official presence affiliated with the state and subject to it and is an integral part of the armed forces. He also stressed that the commitment to the withdrawal of coalition forces is non-negotiable.