The United States has no plans to withdraw its troops from Iraq, the White House and Pentagon insisted Tuesday, as Iraq premier Adel Abdel Mahdi said he had received a US letter signalling a pullout.

President Donald Trump said withdrawing the more than 5,000 US troops in Iraq would be the "worst thing" for that country.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper underscored that US policy has not changed, dismissing as a mere "draft" the unsigned letter from a US general to Iraq's government saying Washington would redeploy troops "in due deference to the sovereignty" of the country.

"At some point we want to get out, but this isn't the right point," Trump said. "It's the worst thing that could happen to Iraq."

"Our policy has not changed. We are not leaving Iraq," Esper told reporters.

"There is no signed letter, to the best of my knowledge," Esper added.

- Fallout from drone strike -

Washington continued to defend itself from the fallout from its drone strike last Friday killing powerful Iranian General Qasem Soleimani just after he arrived in Baghdad from Damascus.

The killing of the key Iranian player in regional politics and security drew outrage from Iran and Soleimani's many supporters in Iraq.

On Sunday the Iraqi parliament voted in support of expelling US troops, and the idea gained force Monday when the letter from the head of Task Force-Iraq, US Brigadier General William Seely, announcing a US exit was revealed.

Seely wrote the US-led coalition would "be repositioning forces in the coming days and weeks to prepare for onward movement."

Trump and Esper strongly denied pullout plans, and Trump even suggested the letter could be a "hoax."

- Mystery letter -

But its existence continued to ripple through Iraqi and US politics, with no explanation of why it was circulated.

"It was an official letter written in such a manner," Abdel Mahdi told a televised cabinet meeting Tuesday.

"It's not a piece of paper that fell off the printer or reached us by coincidence," he said.

The letter discussed "redeploying with an aim to withdraw from the country. The expressions were very clear," he said.

But Trump warned that a US departure would leave a gap that would be filled by Iran, whose powerful political influence in Iraq was spearheaded by Soleimani.

"If we leave, that would mean that Iran would have a much bigger foothold, and the people of Iraq do not want to see Iran run the country. That I can tell you," Trump told reporters.

"The Iraqi people were not happy when the suggestion was made yesterday that we were thinking about leaving at some point," he said.

"But at some point, we will want to leave."

US officials also defended the decision to kill Soleimani, who was a commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in charge of Middle East regional affairs, and who was considered one of the most powerful people in Iran.

While the White House and Pentagon continued to withhold details of the rationale for Friday's drone strike, Esper said Soleimani was planning imminent attacks against US assets.

"I think it's more fair to say days, for sure," Esper said.

- Not a vacation -

"They weren't there to discuss a vacation. They weren't there to go to a nice resort some place in Baghdad," Trump said of Soleimani and top Iraqi military figure Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, also killed in the strike.

"They were there to discuss bad business, and we saved a lot of lives by terminating his life."

Esper said he fully expected Tehran to retaliate, and cautioned that while the United States "is not seeking a war with Iran, we are prepared to finish one."

"We are seeking a diplomatic solution but first, this will require Iran to de-escalate," he said.

"It will require the regime to come to the table with the goal of preventing further bloodshed."

Foreign troop deployments in Iraq
Baghdad (AFP) Jan 7, 2020 - Some foreign troops deployed in Iraq are being moved amid heightened concerns over possible Iranian retaliation for the killing of a powerful Iranian general, Qasem Soleimani, on the orders of US President Donald Trump.

Here are the countries that have made announcements about temporary withdrawals or remaining in Iraq:

- United States -

US Defence Secretary Mark Esper said Washington is not pulling its troops out of Iraq. There are 5,200 US soldiers stationed there, the largest contingent as part of the international coalition fighting the Islamic State jihadist group.

Earlier Iraqi premier Adel Abdel Mahdi said he had received signed copies of a US letter describing steps to "move out" of the country.

"There is no signed letter, to the best of my knowledge," Esper said.

"At some point we want to get out, but this isn't the right point," President Donald Trump said. "It's the worst thing that could happen to Iraq."

- Canada -

Canadian General Jonathan Vance, chief of defence staff, said around 500 Canadian troops will be temporarily moved to neighbouring Kuwait to ensure their safety amid rising tensions.

"The situation in Iraq is complex and it is best to pause our work there in order to fully concentrate our attention and efforts toward the safety and security of our personnel while the situation develops," Vance said.

- Germany -

Germany has temporarily withdrawn some of its 120 troops from Iraq. A total of 32 German soldiers based in Camp Taji near Baghdad were flown to the al-Azraq airforce base in Jordan, the German military said in a statement. Three others went to Kuwait.

Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said German troops are in the country at the Iraqi government's invitation.

"If that is no longer the case... then the legal basis for us to be there is missing. We have to clarify this with those responsible in Baghdad," he said.

- France -

A French government source told AFP there are no plans to pull troops out of Iraq. France has contributed around 200 soldiers to the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State jihadist group (IS), of whom 160 are tasked with training Iraqi military personnel, according to the defence ministry

"The priority today is the same as it was yesterday and should be tomorrow: the fight against Daesh and its resurgence on the ground in the Middle East, and its propaganda on the internet," Defence Minister Florence Parly tweeted, using an Arabic acronym for IS.

- Italy -

Italy's defence ministry said it will maintain its estimated 1,000 troops following talks between Defence Minister Lorenzo Guerini and Esper.

Italian media quoted military sources as saying that "a few dozen" Italian soldiers had been moved from an operations centre near the US embassy in Baghdad after repeated mortar attacks.

US and allied foreign troops in Iraq are concerned they might be targeted by Iran or allied Iraqi militias in retaliation for Soleimani's killing.

"With around 1,000 men in Iraq, over 1,000 in Lebanon in the UNIFIL (peacekeeping) mission, and just under 1,000 in Afghanistan, Italy is among the countries most committed to the stability of the region," Guerini said.

- NATO -

After suspending its training mission in Iraq following the killing of Soleimani, NATO is also temporarily repositioning some personnel outside Iraq.

A NATO official said other mission personnel were being moved to other parts of Iraq, and emphasised that "NATO maintains a presence".

- Romania -

Romania's defence ministry said it has 14 soldiers participating in the NATO mission in Iraq and they will be "temporarily relocated to another coalition base."

Romania's President Klaus Iohannis called on the European Union to have "a stronger voice" in reacting to the crisis unleashed by the killing of the Iranian general.

- Hungary -

Hungary's defence minister Tibor Benko said Hungarian soldiers in Iraq were ready for evacuation "if necessary", but that they would remain unless asked to withdraw, the official MTI agency reported.

Around 200 Hungarian soldiers are stationed in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil, both as part of NATO's training mission and the broader coalition against the Islamic State group.

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NATO to review Iraq mission after Iran general slain
Brussels (AFP) Jan 6, 2020
NATO's ruling committee will meet Monday to discuss the future of the alliance's training mission in Iraq as Middle East tensions mount after US forces killed a top Iranian general. Ambassadors from the 29 allies will gather at their Brussels headquarters at 3.00 pm (1400 GMT) with Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expected to brief journalists afterwards. US officials are due to give an update on the situation after Washington killed Qasem Soleimani, head of Iran's Middle East operations as c ... read more