Iran refuses U.S. cooperation requests on Islamic State
Written by : Mohamed Abdel Fattah
14Sep 2014
Iran has refused a U.S. appeal to join a global fight against Islamic State militants, the country’s leader said Monday, as about 30 countries have pledged to support Iraq in its fight against Islamic State militants by "all means necessary," including military aid.
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Monday that the US offered to discuss a coordinated effort with Iran against Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIS or ISIL), a common foe in the region, in the midst of an escalating campaign of violence that continues to claim lives across Iraq in Syria.
The Islamic State group, which has taken over large areas in northern and western Iraq as well as eastern Syria.
The state-run FARS News agency reports Khamenei said he rejected any cooperation because "they have a corrupt intention and stained hands."
“ISIL presents a serious threat to Iran as it does to every other state in the region,”U.S. State Department spokeswoman, Marie Harf, said
Shiite Iran is a major supporter of the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad, whose forces are also battling the Sunni extremists in Syria.
Iranian officials have generally viewed the U.S. aerial offensive against Islamic State as a means to bolster Washington’s military presence in the region.
French President Francois Hollande called for a global response to counter ISIL on Monday, as he opened a conference on Iraq, bringing together members of a US-led coalition.
"When you have a group of this kind there is no other approach than to unite and defend oneself. That is what the international community has decided to do," Hollande said while urging “clear, loyal and strong” global support for Baghdad.
Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday that the Obama administration would keep the door open to confidential communications with Iran on the security crisis in Iraq, despite sarcastic criticism from Iran’s supreme leader.
Both King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and top officials from the United Arab Emirates had informed the United States that they would not attend the meeting here if Iran was present, said Mr. Kerry, who also stressed that the United States would not coordinate militarily with the Iranians.
Persian Gulf states Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates have reportedly volunteered to conduct airstrikes alongside US forces. The Saudis have also pressured the US to give Syrian rebels surface-to-air antiaircraft weapons, but the Obama administration has thus far refused.
The United States, vowing to “destroy” Islamic State, is backing other rebel factions fighting to oust Assad.
ISIS fighters set off alarms across the Middle East since June when they swept across northern Iraq, seizing cities, slaughtering prisoners, proclaiming a caliphate to rule over all Muslims and ordering non-Sunnis to convert or die.
The United States resumed air strikes in Iraq in August for the first time since the 2011 withdrawal of the last U.S. troops, fearful the militants would break the country up and use it as a base for attacks on the West.
Sources
http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-top-iran-leader-says-no-cooperation-with-us-over-islamic-state-20140915-story.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/iran-rejects-american-request-for-cooperation-against-isis/
http://rt.com/usa/187916-iran-ayatollah-isis-coalition/
14Sep 2014
Iran has refused a U.S. appeal to join a global fight against Islamic State militants, the country’s leader said Monday, as about 30 countries have pledged to support Iraq in its fight against Islamic State militants by "all means necessary," including military aid.
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Monday that the US offered to discuss a coordinated effort with Iran against Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIS or ISIL), a common foe in the region, in the midst of an escalating campaign of violence that continues to claim lives across Iraq in Syria.
The Islamic State group, which has taken over large areas in northern and western Iraq as well as eastern Syria.
The state-run FARS News agency reports Khamenei said he rejected any cooperation because "they have a corrupt intention and stained hands."
“ISIL presents a serious threat to Iran as it does to every other state in the region,”U.S. State Department spokeswoman, Marie Harf, said
Shiite Iran is a major supporter of the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad, whose forces are also battling the Sunni extremists in Syria.
Iranian officials have generally viewed the U.S. aerial offensive against Islamic State as a means to bolster Washington’s military presence in the region.
French President Francois Hollande called for a global response to counter ISIL on Monday, as he opened a conference on Iraq, bringing together members of a US-led coalition.
"When you have a group of this kind there is no other approach than to unite and defend oneself. That is what the international community has decided to do," Hollande said while urging “clear, loyal and strong” global support for Baghdad.
Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday that the Obama administration would keep the door open to confidential communications with Iran on the security crisis in Iraq, despite sarcastic criticism from Iran’s supreme leader.
Both King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and top officials from the United Arab Emirates had informed the United States that they would not attend the meeting here if Iran was present, said Mr. Kerry, who also stressed that the United States would not coordinate militarily with the Iranians.
Persian Gulf states Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates have reportedly volunteered to conduct airstrikes alongside US forces. The Saudis have also pressured the US to give Syrian rebels surface-to-air antiaircraft weapons, but the Obama administration has thus far refused.
The United States, vowing to “destroy” Islamic State, is backing other rebel factions fighting to oust Assad.
ISIS fighters set off alarms across the Middle East since June when they swept across northern Iraq, seizing cities, slaughtering prisoners, proclaiming a caliphate to rule over all Muslims and ordering non-Sunnis to convert or die.
The United States resumed air strikes in Iraq in August for the first time since the 2011 withdrawal of the last U.S. troops, fearful the militants would break the country up and use it as a base for attacks on the West.
Sources
http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-top-iran-leader-says-no-cooperation-with-us-over-islamic-state-20140915-story.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/iran-rejects-american-request-for-cooperation-against-isis/
http://rt.com/usa/187916-iran-ayatollah-isis-coalition/
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