Iraq is an ally of both the US and Iran, which are major foes of one another. The US has about 2,500 soldiers in Iraq at the invitation of the Iraqi government to prevent a resurgence there of the Islamic State (IS) group. There are about 900 US military personnel in north-east Syria, also to curb IS, though the Syrian government considers their presence illegal.
Source link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67819124?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA