TOKYO (AFP) - US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Wednesday warned Iran that it should not meddle in Iraq when American forces leave the country at the end of this year. The Pentagon chief said that even after the last of the 39,000 combat troops are out of Iraq, the US will maintain a significant presence in the Middle East. As the president announced, we are going to wind down our combat forces in Iraq by the end of this year, he told US service personnel during a visit to Tokyo. The mission there was to develop an Iraq that could govern and secure itself.