The United States said Jan. 15 its forces are resuming training operations in Iraq against the Islamic State (IS), despite calls from various quarters, including Egypt, for all foreign troops to exit the country.

The calls reached a fever pitch in the wake of the US assassination Jan. 3 of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force commander Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, who was considered the architect of Iran's foreign operations. Soleimani was killed by a US drone as he visited Iraq.

The assassination was carried out only a few days after thousands of protesters and militia members stormed the US Embassy Dec. 31 in Baghdad to condemn US airstrikes that targeted Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq, allied with the Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) in Iraq.

The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs quickly called for “the immediate cessation of all types of interference in the affairs of Arab countries and peoples.” In a statement on its Facebook page Jan. 3, the ministry said it was "following with great concern the accelerating developments in Iraq, which warn of an escalation that is important to avoid."