Iran's Ayatollah Declines to Help US Coalition Fight ISIS
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei put to rest on Monday any speculation that his country would be partnering in anyway with the U.S. and its allies in defeating the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, also known as ISIS or ISIL.
Even though U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters on Monday that Iran was not invited to join the coalition of countries wanting to take down ISIS, Khamenei's remarks on Twitter seem to imply that Iran was invited to, at least, participate in helping resolve the crisis.
In a series of tweets posted to his English translation Twitter account beginning Monday morning and continuing into Tuesday, Khamenei has not only rejected the United States offer to help resolve the ISIS threat, but heavily chastised the coalition which has 26 participating nations and blamed the United States for the world of terror.
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"I rejected US offer to #Iran abt #ISIS because US has corrupted its hands in this issue. Mr.Zarif rejected US Secretary of State's offer too," Khamenei tweeted.
Kerry met with various countries in Paris on Monday in an outreach effort where allegedly two dozen nations joined in the broad coalition. Although State Department officials have confirmed that a few Arab nations have offered to conduct airstrikes, the presence of Iran, the Shiite power nation with military capabilities and interests in bordering Iraq and Syria, could have huge impact.
Although Kerry has ruled out any military coordination with Iran, he would not be opposed to working with Iran.
"That doesn't mean that we are opposed to the idea of communicating to find out if they will come on board, or under what circumstances, or whether there is the possibility of a change," Kerry told reporters.
However, Khamenei expressed little desire to help reach what he considers to be the U.S.' true goals in getting involved in Iraq and Syria.
"Our disagreement on #Iran's cooperation with #US over #ISIS is because the US itself has been involved in creating & spreading #terrorism," another Khamenei tweet read. "US goal in planning a war on #ISIS is to dominate the region & turn #Iraq & #Syria to #Pakistan where it can commit #crimes whenever it wants."
Khamenei also said he doesn't feel U.S. involvement in Iraq this time around will be much different from previous involvement there.
"If the US enters #Iraq & #Syria without permission, they will go through the same problems as they did over the past 10 years in Iraq," Khamenei tweeted.
Some experts believe that Iran's involvement will be crucial in helping Iraq and Syria topple the ISIS threat.
"There will be no success in Iraq without cooperation with Iran," Francois Gere of the French Institute of Strategic Analysis told the Associated Press.
Although Iran refuses to cooperate with the U.S. and its allies, Iraqi President Fauad Massoum said that since the beginning of ISIS siege, Iran has been an instrumental part in helping supply humanitarian assistance to Iraqis.
"We have a nearly 1,000-kilometer [625-mile] border with them [Iran] and from the first day the Islamic State group made itself known … Iran gave us humanitarian and military aid," Massoum told the Associated Press.
