Troops pullout from Iraq unaffected by US claims against Iran

A spokesman of Iraq's Kurdish bloc said the US allegations that Iran had plotted to assassinate the Saudi ambassador shall not be an excuse for the continued presence of the US forces in Iraq, reminding the his country's emphasis on the US withdrawal according to the two sides' security pact.MP Mu'ai'ad al-Taib told Aswat al-Iraq that "this case will not affect the US withdrawal". According to an agreement between Baghdad and Washington in 2008, the US forces should withdraw by the end of this year. On Tuesday US officials alleged that they had foiled an assassination attempt against the Saudi ambassador to Washington, and accused Iran of involvement in the plot. Iranian officials have strongly rejected the US accusation, and described it as "a fabricated scenario to cover the United States' internal problems".