Recent meetings between senior Iraqi and U.S. officials suggest that a Status of Forces Agreement may soon be reached. These negotiations, which began earlier this year, have been especially complex and contentious. They have not developed on a traditional, bilateral basis but rather as two sets of parallel negotiations. The U.S.-Iraq set of negotiations is formal and seeks to develop a framework for normalized relations and security cooperation. The other set of negotiations, between Iraq and Iran, is informal, and is largely dominated by Iran’s ability to influence Iraq. Iran is fiercely opposed to a US-Iraq SOFA and has both publicly and covertly sought to derail the agreement.

For a detailed timeline of the SOFA negotiations and Iran's interference, click here.