Iran Questions Legitimacy of US-Led Anti-ISIL Coalition
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry voiced doubt about the “legal nature” of a coalition spearheaded by the US against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorist group, saying the coalition has been shaped out of step with the UN regulations.
“From the international law point of view, the legal nature of the coalition is in serious question, and the coalition has been formed out of step with the United Nations mechanisms,” Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham said on Wednesday.
Her comments follow Washington’s bid to build global support for military action against the ISIL.
Elsewhere, the spokeswoman criticized the coalition members for their contradictory words and deeds.
The US-led coalition’s announced goals in the fight against terrorism are inconsistent with the previous and ongoing measures taken by its founders and some of the members, she explained.
Countering terrorism requires “political will and avoidance of double standards” rather than massive coalitions and media propaganda campaign, Afkham noted, expressing regret that certain members of the coalition have had double standard approaches towards terrorism.
Earlier on Monday, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei also dismissed as “absurd, hollow and biased” the US announcement of leading a coalition to battle the ISIL.
Ayatollah Khamenei also pointed to the contradictions in words and deeds of the US officials, stressing that the main objective behind the US plan to battle the ISIL is to have military presence in the region.