Iran Downplays US Account of Baghdadi Death
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry dismissed the fuss over the purported killing of Daesh ringleader as part of the US president’s attempts for re-election, saying the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi would not put an end to the Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) terrorist group and its ideology.
“The Americans themselves have claimed and even confessed to have created Daesh and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. They (terrorists) have an expiry date, and whenever they are expired, they are destroyed (by the US),” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi said in an interview with IRIB on Monday.
“Daesh was eliminated by the youth of the (axis of) resistance. The nations and governments of Syria and Iraq, with logistical support from Iran and the pious people of the region, destroyed (Daesh) with their resistance. But Daeshism, terrorist ideologies, extremism and sectarianism still persist and have always been among the instruments used by countries like the US,” the Iranian spokesman added.
“We do not consider the killing of al-Baghdadi as an end to terrorism and Daesh. Although we defeated Daesh with the (help of) regional governments and nations, we warn that the ideology is still alive, and their remnants may be reorganized by the Americans and carry out destructive operations in the region,” Mousavi added.
It is not surprising or strange that the US has raised such hullabaloo over the operation against al-Baghdadi, he added, describing the move as a trump card being played ahead of the US presidential election for domestic consumption.
“From our viewpoint, this (US operation) was not a great measure, because Daesh had been defeated by us and (other) regional countries. We should wait and see what plots the enemies of region have in mind for the region’s future,” the Iranian spokesperson went on to say.
US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has died during a “dangerous and daring” nighttime operation in Syria.