‘Iran Won’t Cooperate With US Against ISIS’: Diplomat

Iran is not going to work with the United States on fighting Islamic State terrorism, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs, told Iran's Arabic-language news channel al-Alam. Abdollahian, however, said Iran would continue to cooperate with other countries in the region in the fight against ISIS terrorists.

“We have no plans for joint work with the U.S. [in the battle] against Daesh [another name for the Islamic State group], but we will continue our help and consultations at the request of the Iraqi and Syrian governments,” Press TV quoted Abdollahian as saying.

Abdollahian said Iran was one of the first nations to help Syria and Iraq fight ISIS and other terrorist forces and accused the United States of a double standard in its announced plans to fight ISIS militants.

Separately, Abdollahian said Iran wants to normalize its ties with Saudi Arabia, enabling the two countries to solve mutual problems “through cooperation and interaction.” He said it is a strategic mistake for Riyadh to try to solve regional problems with violence, citing Saudi operations in Yemen. He added Iran would make a constructive response if Saudi Arabia played a constructive role.

Jerusalem Post reported that Iranian officials publicly said the Iran nuclear deal would not change its regional policies. “Iran publicly supports several Shiite military groups in the region, such as the Houthis in Yemen, and Hezbollah,” it added.