{"id":12878,"date":"2019-05-15T16:59:41","date_gmt":"2019-05-15T16:59:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/05\/15\/allies-hunker-down-in-iraq-drop-out-over-us-tensions-with-iran\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:49:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:49:20","slug":"allies-hunker-down-in-iraq-drop-out-over-us-tensions-with-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/05\/15\/allies-hunker-down-in-iraq-drop-out-over-us-tensions-with-iran\/","title":{"rendered":"Allies hunker down in Iraq, drop out over US tensions with Iran"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

U.S. allies involved in operations in the Middle East appear uninterested in the increasingly bellicose rhetoric<\/a> from the White House and Pentagon regarding Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Germany and the Netherlands suspended military training operations in Iraq due to increasing regional tensions, a Spanish frigate was recalled from its voyage with a U.S. Navy carrier strike group<\/a> and a British general was sharply rebuked <\/a>by U.S. Central Command<\/a> after telling reporters that Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria did not pose an increased risk to U.S. and coalition allies fighting the Islamic State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

National Security Adviser John Bolton, and other administration leaders, have repeatedly warned that intelligence shows there is an increased threat that Iran or its proxy groups could attack the U.S. or its allies, though they have withheld the details of that intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

European allies voiced concern this week that the tensions could accidentally trigger a conflict after the Pentagon dispatched a Patriot missile defense battery, a bomber task force, an amphibious transport dock and a carrier strike group to the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are living in a crucial, delicate moment where the most relevant attitude to take \u2014 the most responsible attitude to take \u2014 should be that of maximum restraint and avoiding any escalation on the military side,” Federica Mogherini, the European Union\u2019s diplomatic chief, said Monday<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The military posturing is paired with President Donald Trump\u2019s economic sanctions to pressure Iran to renegotiate the nuclear deal that the U.S. abandoned a year ago, according to Lawrence J. Korb, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and former assistant secretary of defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor Bolton, on the other hand, I think he wants to send the forces into the region and he hopes the Iranians will respond and then he can go to Trump and say \u2018well, you got to do a one-off attack like we did in Syria,\u2019” Korb told Military Times. He added that European allies want to continue the previous nuclear deal for fear of starting a nuclear arms race between Saudi Arabia and Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA lot of people say it looks like the prelude to our invasion of Iraq, but I think it\u2019s much more like the Gulf of Tonkin in 1964<\/a> when you put all those troops in there,” Korb said. “Then you get misperceptions. Then you get people overreacting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Gulf of Tonkin incident is often seen as a cautionary tale for U.S. war planners. During a confrontation off the shores of Vietnam, now discredited reports of enemy vessels coming into contact with U.S. warships offered the catalyst for U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The parallels between that incident and the current situation near Iran were highlighted by a series of questionable claims of \u201csabotage\u201d to oil tankers <\/a>near the Persian Gulf over the weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to sending additional military assets to the region, the U.S. State Department ordered the departure of all non-emergency U.S. government employees from Iraq at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and the U.S. Consulate in Erbil over the security threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A spokesman for the German Defense Ministry said Wednesday that Germany is suspending military training operations in Iraq due to increasing regional tensions. Germany has roughly 60 soldiers near Baghdad to train Iraqi security forces, as well as about 100 troops in the Kurdish regions of northern Iraq, according to Deutsche Welle<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
German soldiers, deployed in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, dig a pit near an unexploded ordinance to control the direction of the blast in Erbil, Iraq, Feb. 13, 2018. A Coalition of 74 members have committed themselves to the goal of eliminating the threat posed by ISIS in Iraq and Syria and have contributed in various capacities to the effort. Combined Joint Task Force \u2013 Operation Inherent Resolve is the global Coalition to defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Anthony Zendejas IV)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Spain also recalled the frigate Mendez Nunez<\/a> that was accompanying the U.S. aircraft carrier strike group<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe U.S. government has taken a decision outside of the framework of what had been agreed with the Spanish Navy,\u201d acting defense minister Margarita Robles said, according to Reuters<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Netherland\u2019s state broadcaster NOS reported on Wednesday that the country also suspended its military training mission because of the security threat. The 50-troop mission primarily trains Kurdish forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the allied response, a top British Army officer in Iraq said the threat level from Iranian-backed militias in Iraq had not risen in recent weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAm I concerned about the danger: no, not really,” Army Maj. Gen. Christopher Ghika, a deputy commander with the anti-ISIS coalition, said Tuesday of Iranian threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A Danish soldier teaches Iraqi soldiers how to hold an M16 rifle, in a basic weapons skills course at the Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, March 24, 2019. Iraqi soldiers familiarize themselves with the M16 to avoid incidents and increase proficiency. A Coalition created from a diverse international community will continue its support to the people of Iraq in order to enhance the capabilities of the nation to ensure security and stability. As a non-permanent force, the Coalition aims to enable the Iraqi Security Forces to be self-sufficient. (U.S. Army Photo by Pfc. Zachary Myers)\r\r.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ghika said that force protection measures have been reviewed in \u201clight of the events in the last week,\u201d and were \u201ccompletely satisfactorily.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CENTCOM pushed back against Ghika Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRecent comments from OIR\u2019s Deputy Commander run counter to the identified credible threats available to intelligence from U.S. and allies regarding Iranian backed forces in the region,\u201d said Capt. Bill Urban, CENTCOM\u2019s lead spokesman. \u201cOIR is now at a high level of alert as we continue to closely monitor credible and possibly imminent threats to U.S. forces in Iraq.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the sharp rebuke from the U.S. military, British defense officials issued a statement Wednesday morning backing up Ghika\u2019s comments that there has always been a threat from Iranian proxies in the region, as well as from other actors, but that threat has not increased in recent weeks in Iraq and Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. officials have so far declined to comment on the record regarding what threats they have identified coming from Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The New York Times<\/a> reported Tuesday that a U.S. \u201cintelligence report\u201d had collected data in April through \u201cintercepts, imagery and other information” that indicated \u201cIran was building up its proxy forces\u2019 readiness to fight and was preparing them to attack American forces in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Times did not say which U.S. intelligence agency compiled the report, nor did it identify the officials who provided the information. The failures of pre-war intelligence leading up to the Iraq War \u2014 which did not properly vet sources and was selectively curated to mislead Congress \u2014 was the subject of a U.S. Senate investigation<\/a> in the years following the 2003 Iraq invasion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates said over the weekend that some oil tankers affiliated with their countries were hit by \u201csabotage attacks\u201d in the Persian Gulf. Though, no link has been drawn that could connect those attacks to Iranian forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The increased tensions come at the same time as Washington is ratcheting up pressure on the Iranian regime over the nuclear deal that the U.S. abandoned one year ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

European signatories to the deal \u2014 Germany, the United Kingdom and France \u2014 have criticized the U.S. government\u2019s approach and urged Iran to remain in compliance with the deal despite U.S. economic sanctions and the military build-up in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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MOD statement following Major General Chris Ghika's Pentagon press briefing. Full briefing can be watched here: https:\/\/t.co\/U64v2E9BvU<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/4tZrD9zN1D<\/a><\/p>— Ministry of Defence \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 (@DefenceHQ) May 15, 2019<\/a><\/blockquote>