US claims of Iran threat to coalition forces in Middle East rejected by British general

US central command later dismisses comments

A British general serving in Iraq has rejected claims from the White House that coalition forces in the Middle East are facing an increased threat from Iran or its allies.

In recent days, Washington has responded to what it has claimed as a raised threat from Iran-backed militias to US and coalition forces fighting the remnants of Isis in Iraq and Syria, by dispatching an aircraft carrier, B-52 bombers and Patriot missiles. National security advisor John Bolton, a longtime advocate of regime change in Iran, has ordered up a proposal to immediately dispatch 120,000 US troops should Iran attack American forces.

But the British general who is second in command of strategy and information for the coalition operation named Inherent Resolve, Maj Gen Chris Ghika, told reporters at the Pentagon, there was no evidence of an increased threat.

“No, there has been no increased threat from Iranian-backed forces in Iraq and Syria,” he said, according to Reuters.

“We are aware of their presence clearly and we monitor them along with a whole range of others because that is the environment we are in.”

A year after Donald Trump pulled the US out of the Iran nuclear deal, tensions between the two countries have once again spiked, with both sides sabre-rattling. Washington has made a series of accusation about Iran, often in the forms of briefings to the media by unidentified officials.

In recent days, reports in the US media have suggested US intelligence officials believe proxies sympathetic to, or working for Iran, may have attacked four tankers off the United Arab Emirates.

Iran has rejected the claims and accused the US of trying to drag it into a war it has no wish to fight. Critics of the Trump administration have accused it of twisting and even fabricating information in the same manner George W Bush did in regard to allegations of weapons of mass destruction, to make the case for the invasion of Iraq.

Hamid Baeidinejad, Iran’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, said the Trump administration made a “serious miscalculation” in deploying an aircraft carrier strike group, B-52 bombers and other military personnel, according to USA Today. “We are prepared for any eventuality, this I can tell you,” said Mr Baeidinejad.

At the White House, Mr Trump was asked about reports of sending 120,000 troops to the region. “Would I do that? Absolutely,” he said. “But we have not planned for that.”

Speaking during a visit to Russia, US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said Washington did not want a war with Iran, but added: “We have also made clear to the Iranians that if American interests are attacked, we will most certainly respond in an appropriate fashion.”

Briefing reporters from Baghdad, Maj Gen Ghika, an officer with the Irish Guards who previously served in Northern Ireland, Kosovo and Afghanistan, also said: “There are a range of Iranian-backed forces….So it is very difficult to start to delineate between them.”

Mr Ghika said there was no contradiction between his statement and the position of the White House.

Maj Gen Chris Ghika has previously served in Northern Ireland, Kosovo and Afghanistan (Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve)

“I said there are a range of threats to American and coalition forces in this part of the world. There always have been, that is why we have a very robust range of force protection measures,” he said. “The threats come from a range of different groups, we monitor them carefully, we raise and reduce our force protection levels accordingly.”

He added: “I don’t think I’m out of step with the White House at all.”

Reports said when journalists pressed the officer, he declined to repeat his assertion about there being no increased threat from Iran or its allies.

The Pentagon told The Independent it was expecting a “clarification” from the Mr Ghika over his comments and said there had been confusion over the question he was asked.

The US military central command (CENTCOM) later took the rare step of dismissing the British officer’s comments and increasing the threat level for coalition troops in Iraq and Syria.

“Recent comments from [Gen Ghika] run counter to the identified credible threats available to intelligence from US and allies regarding Iranian backed forces in the region,” said Capt Bill Urban, CENTCOM’s lead spokesman. “US Central Command, in coordination with operation Inherent Resolve, has increased the force posture level for all service members assigned to OIR in Iraq and Syria.”

Activists claimed the British general’s comment’s exposed lies being made by the White House.

“Gen Ghika’s comments seem to confirm our worst fears, that the Trump administration is lying about intelligence in order to build the case for another catastrophic war of choice in the Middle East,” said Jon Rainwater, executive director of Peace Action, a California-based group that works to find peaceful solutions to strategic problems.

“The US relationship with Iran was on the mend following the Iran Nuclear Agreement, until Trump decided to unilaterally withdraw despite Iran’s verifiable compliance. Since then, the Trump administration has threatened Iran with war, tried to cripple Iran’s economy with sanctions, and weighed plans to send 120,000 troops to the region.”