Australian soldiers WON’T be pulling out of Iraq any time soon: Defence minister says government won’t make a snap decision in wake of Iranian missile strikes on US bases
- Iran launched missile strikes again US military bases in Iraq on Wednesday
- More than a dozen missiles were fired in revenge for US assassination of general
- Australia’s Defence Minister said Aussie soldiers would stay in Iraq for now
Australia’s defence minister says the government won’t be making any sudden decisions on withdrawing troops from Iraq.
‘We’re monitoring the situation to see what happens over the next couple of days,’ Linda Reynolds told the ABC on Thursday.+
Iran on Wednesday launched more than a dozen missiles against two US-led military bases in response to the US assassination of an Iranian military chief.
Australia’s Defence Minister Linda Reynolds says the government won’t be making any sudden decisions on withdrawing troops from Iraq
Australian troops close to the attacked Al-Assad base were confirmed safe, with another 300 diggers further north unaffected.
Cabinet’s national security committee will meet in Canberra on Thursday to discuss the developing situation.
‘We are all working very hard to ensure all parties exercise restraint and de-escalation,’ Senator Reynolds said.
She said it was important for Australia to have a presence in the Middle East to help with the fight against Islamic State.
Defence chief Angus Campbell has been told to do whatever it takes to keep Australians safe and has not ruled out withdrawing troops.
Australian Defence Force Lieutenant General Greg Bilton is advising the government on their policy position and admitted the situation in Iraq was concerning.
Iran on Wednesday launched more than a dozen missiles against two US-led military bases in response to the US assassination of an Iranian military chief. A screen grab from Iran’s state press agency purports to show one of the missiles being launched
‘At this stage we’ve been contingency planning, as you always do, it’s just common sense, and we’re preparing those plans for a raft of different circumstances which I won’t discuss here,’ he told reporters.
‘I’m not going to make any predictions here but (the situation) is concerning.’
NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury is concerned about the potential impact on petrol prices.
‘The US markets are worrying – prices jumped almost immediately by four per cent – if that’s an indication of what’s to come, it’s very concerning,’ Mr Khoury told AAP.