Iran 'Backs US Military Contacts' to Fight Islamic State

8/11/2019 Iran 'Backs US Military Contacts' to Fight Islamic State

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Iran 'backs US militarycontacts' to fight Islamic State

Iran regards IS, which sees Shia Muslims as heretics, as a serious threat

5 September 2014

Iran's Supreme Leader has appro ed co!operation "ith the USas part of the fight against Islamic State #IS$ in Ira%& sources ha e told ( )ersian*

Ayatollah Khamenei has authorised his top commander to co-ordinate military operations withthe US, Iraqi and Kurdish forces, sources in Tehran say.

Iran has traditionally opposed US in ol ement in Iraq, an Iranian ally.

!owe er, Iran"s foreign ministry officially denied it would co-operate with the US against IS.

Ministry spo#eswoman Mar$iyeh Af#ham told Iran"s %ress T& the report was not correct.

Tehran had 'een critical of the way (ashington launched air stri#es on IS only after USinterests came under threat, she said.

A further indication that Iran may ha e appro ed co-operation with the US comes from )**"s
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29079052http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29079052http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/2.64.0/desktop/3.5/img/blq-blocks_grey_alpha.pnghttp://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29079052http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29079052


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)hristiane Amanpour, "ho t"eeted that Iraqi %resident +uad Masum had told her as much onThursday.

Shia Iran sees the e tremist Sunni IS group, which iews Shias as heretics, as a serious threat.

ast month US air stri#es helped Iranian-'ac#ed Shia militia and Kurdish forces 'rea# a two-

month siege 'y Islamic State of the Shia town of Amerli.

IS has ta#en o er swathes of northern and western Iraq and eastern Syria in recent months.

US forces 'egan carrying out air stri#es on IS positions in August after they too# o er se eralcities in northern Iraq.

+nalysis, -asra .a/i& ( )ersian

This new-found cooperation with US forces indicates a change in Iran"s policy in Iraq, al'eitone 'orne out of necessity.

In //0, Iran cooperated with the US in Afghanistan 'y arming and supporting the *orthernAlliance which e entually o erthrew the Tali'an go ernment.

*ow, there is a similar need to stop a threat, which Iran 'y itself can only defeat 'y 'ringing inthousands of troops.

1efeating Islamic State will remo e the threat on Iran"s western 'orders and help sta'ilise Iran"stwo main allies in the region, Iraq and Syria.

Iran can also a oid large num'ers of 'oots on the ground, as long as Iraqi Shia militias, loyal toIran"s Ayatollah Khamenei, stand ready to ta#e up the 'anner and fight.

Iran"s change of heart will no dou't 'e welcomed in (ashington and ondon, where a 2ointstrategy is ta#ing shape towards creating a 'road alliance of international and regional playersto deal with the IS threat.

Sources say Ayatollah Khamenei has sanctioned 3en 4asem Soleimani, the commander of the4uds +orce - an elite o erseas unit of the 5e olutionary 3uards - to wor# with forces fightingIS, including the US.

Iran's en asem Soleimani
https://twitter.com/camanpour/status/507869342625984512https://twitter.com/camanpour/status/507869342625984512


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Iran"s3en 4asem Soleimani has 'een planning a strategy to cur' further ad ances of IS fighters

)ommander of the 4uds +orce, the 5e olutionary 3uard"s elite o erseas operations arm (idely credited with the strategy that helped Syria"s go ernment recapture #ey cities and towns

from re'els More recently has 'een in 6aghdad strengthening defences with the help of Iraqi Shia militias

to stem the ad ance of IS

Internet photos place him in northern Iraq at the time the siege of Amerli was 'ro#enIran's asem Soleimani "ields po"er behind the scenes in Ira%

3en Soleimani has 'een acti e in the past few months in strengthening the defences of6aghdad with the help of Iraqi Shia militias.

!is picture has appeared on the internet showing him in northern Iraq around the time of the 'rea#ing of the siege of Amerli - an indication that this co-operation may ha e already started.

'.o boots on the ground'

Meanwhile, *ato leaders meeting at a summit in (ales say they want to form a militarycoalition to ta#e on IS.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-27883162http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-27883162


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Kurdish forces, pictured here, fighting with Iraqi soldiers ha e pushed IS 'ac# from parts of northernIraq

TheUS has 'een helping the offensi e 'y carrying out air stri#es on IS positions


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!undreds of thousands of people from communities targeted 'y IS ha e fled their homes

7(e need to attac# them in ways that pre ent them from ta#ing o er territory, to 'olster theIraqi security forces and others in the region who are prepared to ta#e them on, withoutcommitting troops of our own,7 5euters news agency quotes US Secretary of State 8ohn Kerryas saying.

79' iously I thin# that"s a red line for e ery'ody here: *o 'oots on the ground,7 he said.

The 'rutality of IS - including mass #illings and a'ductions of mem'ers of religious and ethnicminorities, as well as the 'eheadings of soldiers and 2ournalists - has spar#ed outrage across theworld.

ast month Iraqi and Kurdish forces pushed IS 'ac# from parts of northern Iraq, 'ut the groupstill controls what it has declared as a caliphate stretching across Syria and Iraq.

Since the Islamic re olution in 0;


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Iran 'Backs US Military Contacts' to Fight Islamic State

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