The Prime Minister has said no directive has been given to the Defence Force from Parliament to prepare troops for deployment to Iraq.
John Key's comment comes after Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee said training had begun on a contingency basis.
Mr Key said he was waiting for information from a scoping team sent to Iraq had advised him.
"The government hasn't given them any instructions at all.
"It would be impossible for them to be training for the exact mission that we might send to Iraq because the Government hasn't had any advice on that."
