READ MORE Despite focusing on the withdrawal of US military presence abroad, Ms Birch believes the US will be required to monitor several ongoing conflicts. She said: “That said, there are a handful of brewing conflicts that the administration will continue to monitor. “The first is the heightened risk of conflict with Iran, as part of ongoing regional proxy battles in the Middle East. “For example, the US conducted targeted missile strikes on a convoy of Iranian-aligned Iraqi militias operating in Syria on February 25. “These were retaliatory strikes, which followed recent attacks on US interests in Iraq, which the US government believes were conducted by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq.”