Iranian Official: US Not Serious about Countering ISIL Terrorists
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The deputy secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) emphasized that the poor performance of the US-led coalition against the ISIL terrorist group shows that Washington is not serious about fighting the group and is pursuing other goals in Iraq.
In a meeting with Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq and Head of Mission Nickolay Mladenov in Tehran on Monday, Saeed Iravani emphasized that despite its widespread publicity campaigns, the US-led coalition against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has been “ineffective”.
He pointed to the recent military advances by the Iraqi army and volunteer forces and said the ISIL terrorist group is on the verge of collapse.
Iravani also said the scope of the regions liberated by the Iraqi forces supported by Iran which comes despite the publicity campaign of the US-led coalition, is yet another proof indicating that the United States is not serious in the fight against ISIL and is pursuing other goals in Iraq.
The US said on September 5 that it had created a "core coalition" to battle the ISIL militants in Iraq, calling for broad support from allies and partners around the world.
Mladenov, for his part, praised Iran’s supports for the Iraqi government in the fight against terrorism.
He also described the formation of a new government in Iraq as a contributing factor in creating balance of power in the Arab country, which strengthened the motivation of various tribes and sects to participate in their country's political affairs.
