Topline: Iraq prime minister Adel Abdul Mahdi asked U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo Friday to create a process for withdrawing American troops from the country, after Iraq’s parliament voted for their removal following the killing of Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani on their soil.

Although the parliamentary vote is part of a nonbinding resolution, Mahdi’s statement requests the U.S. send a delegation to Iraq to work on the withdrawal process.

The request comes one week after thousands of U.S. troops were deployed to the Middle East⁠—including Iraq⁠—as tensions escalated due to Soleimani’s killing.

Mahdi also said Iraq objects to U.S. military aircraft entering the country’s airspace without approval from its government.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the parliamentary vote is an indication that Iraq appears to be aligning itself more closely with Iran, and that Iraq-U.S. relations are becoming more strained.

President Trump signaled in a Wednesday speech, however, that the U.S. was de-escalating military action, after Iran launched ballistic missiles (causing no casualties) at Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops Tuesday night.

Trump has also threatened to impose sanctions on Iraq and invoice the country for billions of dollars if U.S. troops are withdrawn.

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