The Canadian Armed Forces has joined its NATO allies in withdrawing military personnel from Iraq amid the continued Iran war, Defence Minister David McGuinty confirmed Friday.
NATO’s top commander, Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, confirmed earlier Friday that the alliance has pulled several hundred personnel out of Iraq and relocated them to Europe. They were a part of NATO’s security advisory mission established in 2018 to advise Iraqi defence and security officials.
“As a part of this adjustment, the Canadian Armed Forces personnel and Canadian civilians deployed with the NATO Mission Iraq have been relocated to a secure location and are protected and accounted for,” McGuinty said in an announcement provided by his office.
Grynkewich said the mission will proceed its work from Joint Force Command Naples.
The move got here after a string of Iranian attacks on other troops at British, French and Italian bases in Iraq, as Tehran steps up its attacks on neghbouring Gulf Arab states in retaliation over U.S. and Israeli airstrikes that began three weeks ago.
Attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure have increased after Israel bombed Iran’s massive South Pars offshore natural gas field earlier this week. Kuwait and Bahrain reported latest strikes on Friday.
Late Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump posted on social media that his administration was considering “winding down” military operations within the Middle East.
Trump said in his Truth Social post that the U.S. was “getting very near meeting our objectives” for the war, including degrading Iran’s military, naval, missile and nuclear capabilities.
Nevertheless, Reuters and the Associated Press reported Friday that the U.S. was sending 2,500 additional Marines to the Middle East, together with not less than one amphibious assault ship. The reports cited U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity, and Global News has not independently verified the extra deployments.
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The Trump administration has also requested one other US$200 billion from Congress to fund the war.
Trump’s statement also left a muddled picture of whether the U.S. would police the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane. Trump had said this week that the U.S. didn’t need assistance, while also complaining that other countries didn’t help.
“The Hormuz Strait could have to be guarded and policed, as essential, by other Nations who use it — The USA doesn’t!” he wrote.
“If asked, we are going to help these Countries of their Hormuz efforts, nevertheless it shouldn’t be essential once Iran’s threat is eradicated. Importantly, it should be a straightforward Military Operation for them.”
Earlier Friday, Trump wrote on social media that NATO allies were “COWARDS” for previously refusing his calls for assist in the Strait, adding the U.S. “will REMEMBER!”
Canada on Thursday joined the UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan in an announcement saying they were willing to “contribute to appropriate efforts” to making sure protected passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
The nations didn’t say what specific motion is perhaps taken.
McGuinty has left the door open for the Canadian military to assist neighbouring countries defend themselves from Iranian attacks, in the event that they seek assistance from the NATO alliance.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand’s office said Friday that any potential support from Canada can be guided by local needs, in addition to Canada’s laws and policies, and consultations with partners and allies.
Her spokesperson said Canada remains to be focused on diplomacy to lower tensions, and to stop attacks by all players on energy infrastructure.
The Canadian Armed Forces has had no involvement in any respect in the present war and no Canadian military members were involved in its planning, the Department of National Defence says.
The department said that, based on numbers from March 5, the Canadian Armed Forces has roughly 200 personnel deployed across the Middle East in six separate operations.
Some military members have been relocated throughout the region or redeployed back to Canada. The department says it should not disclose more detailed personnel numbers at specific locations for security reasons.
The department also confirms that just about three dozen Canadian military members on an exchange with a division of the U.S. air force weren’t deployed to the Persian Gulf region.
The department said 35 Canadian Armed Forces members are currently serving in some capability with the 552nd Air Control Wing’s Canadian Detachment, but haven’t left the U.S. for operations within the Gulf.
The American wing, based out of the Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma, has deployed six Boeing E-3G Sentry AWACS surveillance aircraft to an airbase in Saudi Arabia.
—with files from the Canadian Press and the Associated Press
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