LONDON — Prince Harry, the third in line to the British throne, will not be deployed in Iraq because of “a number of specific threats” to his safety, Britain’s army commander said yesterday.

“These threats expose not only him, but also those around him, to a degree of risk that I now deem unacceptable,” the army’s chief of staff, General Richard Dannatt, said in a statement released by military authorities.

The decision follows months of mixed signals and reviews on the part of the army, which originally had planned to post Harry, the younger son of Prince Charles, as head of a 12-member tank group within his Blues and Royals Regiment, which is deploying to Iraq this spring.

Several threats from Iraqi insurgents have emerged, including a vow to cut off the ears of the “young, handsome, spoilt prince,” amid reports that the prince’s photo had been circulating among armed Iraqi groups.

General Dannatt said he made the decision after traveling to Iraq and conducting extensive consultations about the potential threat. He said the public attention to the proposed deployment had been a “contributing factor” to the increasing risk to the prince and others.