“The Portuguese military contingent in Iraq, 34 elements, is well, they are all out of any danger, they are at the base of Besmayah, which is 200 kilometres and 350 kilometres from the two bases that were attacked, so they are very far from the scene where these incidents occurred,” said Minister João Gomes Cravinho.

The Pentagon confirmed on 8 January that more than a dozen Iranian "missiles" were fired at two US military bases in Ain Assad and Arbil.

Asked by journalists on the sidelines of a visit to the NATO Academy of Communications and Information, at the Gomes Freire Reduct in Oeiras, Gomes Cravinho stressed that the base where the Portuguese military are housed is part of the Spanish contingent in the international coalition against “Daesh” it is "a somewhat isolated base".

“It is about 40 kilometres from Baghdad in a desert region and is a large military camp as if it were a sort of Santa Margarida camp [in Portugal], which has no nearby settlement and has enhanced protective measures,” said Gomes Cravinho.

As for a possible withdrawal, the minister reiterated that "it is premature" to talk about sending troops back, stating that further developments regarding the positions of the Iraqi authorities need to be awaited.

The minister said he was in "close cooperation" with the Allies and that "the hope is that soon there will be conditions to resume" training activities to Iraqi forces.