After the final remnants of ISIS‘ physical caliphate falls, the troops will go to al-Asad Air Base in western Iraq’s Anbar province, he said. The base, which Trump visited in December, is jointly operated by U.S. and Iraqi armed forces.

“We spent a fortune on building this incredible base,” Trump said. “We might as well keep it. And one of the reasons I want to keep it is because I want to be looking a little bit at Iran, because Iran is a real problem.”