Iran Calls US-Led Anti-ISIL Coalition “Suspicious”
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A high-ranking Iranian official cast doubt over Washington’s announcement of leading a military campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorist group, saying such a move is to distract attention from its past record of arming rebels in Syria.
“The US seeks to continue unilateralism and to violate sovereignty of countries under the pretext of fighting terrorism,” Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani said on Saturday.
Describing the US quest for support in the battle against the ISIL terrorists as “suspicious and not transparent”, Shamkhani said, “The US measure is aimed at diverting the attention of world public opinion away from the key role of that country and its supporters in creating, equipping and proping up the terrorist groups under the pretext of toppling Syria’s legitimate government.”
“The US seeks to represent itself as a hero in a Hollywood style to settle a self-made crisis,” he added.
Back on September 4, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei underlined that the terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIL have been fabricated by the West and its regional proxies.
And on Thursday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham also voiced doubt over the sincerity of the US-led coalition against the ISIL, saying, “The international coalition against ISIL which came to life after the NATO summit in Wales and is being shaped now, faces serious ambiguities and there is considerable doubt about its sincere and fundamental fight against terrorism.”
The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is a militant group in Iraq and Syria believed to be supported by the West and some regional Arab countries. The terrorist group claims as an independent state the territory of Iraq and Syria, with implied future claims intended over more of the Levant, including Lebanon, occupied Palestine, Jordan, Cyprus, and Southern Turkey.