Tehran – Iran said on Thursday the emerging international coalition to battle Islamic State militants was “shrouded in serious ambiguities,” Iranian state television reported.
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“The so-called international coalition to fight the ISIL (Islamic State) group… is shrouded in serious ambiguities and there are severe misgivings about its determination to sincerely fight the root causes of terrorism,” Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said on Thursday.
She did not mention specifically a call by US President Barack Obama for a broad coalition to root out Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
She also accused some members of the coalition of being “financial and military supporters of terrorists in Iraq and Syria.”
Obama vowed to strike the Islamic State “wherever they are” in an historic address to the American people on Wednesday night, preparing the nation for broad, borderless military conflict in the Middle East.
“We will conduct a systematic campaign of airstrikes against these terrorists,” Obama said from the White House. “I will not hesitate to take action against ISIL in Syria, as well as Iraq. This is a core principle of my presidency: if you threaten America, you will find no safe haven.”
In a fifteen-minute address, the president said the US would fight the group – which has conquered territories in eastern Syria and northern Iraq, and has threatened the United States – “relentlessly.”
White House officials say the president will now consider all territories in which the organization operates fair game for the US military, including Syria and the entirety of Iraq.
Foreign nations will join the US in its air campaign, US officials said, although “conversations are now under way” on what nations will play what roles in the coalition. Instead of military power, some may instead provide funding and training for rebels, while others still will contribute political support.
Tehran says it is not in talks with Washington about the insurgency in Iraq and is instead focused on resolving issues over the country’s nuclear program.
“In the negotiations with America, no issue but the nuclear issue has been discussed,” she said.
The United States and other world powers are in negotiations with Iran on limiting Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for an end to sanctions.
The nuclear talks are due to resume in New York next week.
Content is provided courtesy of the Jerusalem Post
The fourth guy from the left. I just love his individualistic sense of style.
Iran, wait!
You are next!