Anti-ISIL Coalition Meant to Protect Israel: Iranian Official
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani described formation of the US-led anti-ISIL coalition as a move to protect the Zionist regime.
“The coming together of the creators of the ISIL to fight this terrorist group is more an effort to create safe borders for the Zionist regime than one seeking to bring about regional stability and security for the oppressed people of the region,” Shamkhani said on Wednesday.
On September 12, US President Barack Obama said the United States is assembling an international coalition to “snuff out” the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorist group.
Iranian officials have since criticized Washington’s bid to build global support for military action against the ISIL as absurd.
According to Shamkhani, the existence of contradictions, rivalries, and conflicting objectives among the countries joining the coalition is the main reason for its ineffectiveness.
He said Denmark’s Foreign Minister in his recent visit to Iran asked Iran to join the coalition but Tehran rejected it.
The SNSC secretary further described the Islamic Republic as the true flag-bearer of fighting against terrorism and said Iran will continue supporting the governments of Iraq and Syria in their efforts to confront terrorist elements.
The ISIL terrorists control large parts of Syria’s east and north. The ISIL also sent its Takfiri militants into Iraq in June, seizing large swathes of land straddling the border between Syria and Iraq.
The Takfiri terrorist group has committed heinous crimes and threatened all communities, including Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds, Christians and Izadi Kurds, during its advances in Iraq.