Baku, Azerbaijan, May 19
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iran has doubts over the true intentions of the US anti-IS (Islamic State) campaign, the Islamic Republic's Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehghan said, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported May 19.
The US pursues the strategy of making the region insecure by designing crisis and supporting terrorist groups with help of some regional allies, Dehghan said.
He made the remarks during a meeting with Iraqi President Fuad Masum in Baghdad on May 19.
The US and its allies' initial delay in providing assistance to the Iraqi people in fighting the terrorists indicate that they have other purposes beyond the so-called war with the IS, Dehghan said.
The Iranian minister further said that the Islamic Republic is against any plan for the break up of Iraq, adding Tehran would spare no effort to prevent that.
Dehghan arrived in Baghdad on May 18 at the invitation of his Iraqi counterpart Khaled al-Obeidi. Military and security cooperation between Tehran and Baghdad are on the agenda of his meetings with senior Iraqi officials.
Some western and Iraqi media have underscored the significant role of Iranian forces in fighting against the IS.
The media reports say Iranian forces have a decisive presence on the battlefield of the fight. Meanwhile Iranian officials said the Islamic Republic gives only advice and organizational structure to the Iraqi forces.
The IS group has killed several high-ranking staff of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in Iraq during the conflicts in recent months.
Earlier al-Obeidi said Iraq could rely on Iran for weapon imports, while the Islamic Republic can deliver the needed military equipment to Baghdad in less than 72 hours. He also said that Iran has full readiness for covering Iraq 's entire demand for weapons and ammunition.
Edited by CN
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