Iraq Security Crisis not Discussed in Vienna: Zarif
VIENNA (Tasnim) - Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif denied reports that the issue of Iraq was discussed during his trilateral meeting with US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns and the EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton.
“Mr. Burns attended the meeting only in the framework of Iran’s nuclear energy negotiations, and only nuclear discussions were held,” said Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Zarif in an interview with Al-Alam TV, adding that Vienna negotiations are merely focused on Iran’s nuclear issue.
Earlier, Reuters reported that Iranian and US officials had discussed the crisis in Iraq on the sidelines of separate negotiations about the Iranian nuclear program.
On Monday, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for African and Middle Eastern Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian had said Tehran had no negotiations with Washington over the recent security crisis in Iraq.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has not had any negotiations with US regarding the joint operation against recent terrorist attacks in Iraq. We believe that the Iraqi nation and their armed forces are capable enough to defuse the recent fabricated crisis in their country,” Amir Abdollahian told reporters on Monday.
The senior diplomat reiterated that Iran will have no direct intervention in Iraq regarding the security crisis in the country, but will offer consultations and support to the Iraqi government.
Following the ISIL advances, Iraq's senior Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in a Fatwa (religious decree) called on Iraqis to take up arms against fighters who were advancing towards Baghdad. Shortly after Sistani made his appeal, thousands of volunteers from different Iraqi cities made their way down to army camps to join anti-terrorist forces.
