Iran Says Paris Anti-Jihadist Meeting Just for Show
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Iran said Saturday it has no wish to attend an international conference in Paris next week on fighting the jihadist Islamic State group, dismissing the meeting as just for show.
"We have no interest in taking part in this counter-terrorism conference in Paris which has a selective guest list and is just for show," deputy foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told state television.
"What would interest Iran is a real fight against terrorism in the region and around the world, not this selective one," he said.
Iran has not been invited to Monday's meeting in Paris, amid U.S. resistance to involving Tehran in the regional coalition it has been building among regional states to fight the jihadists in Iraq and neighboring Syria.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday that Washington opposed Tehran's participation because of its "engagement in Syria and elsewhere."
The United States is building an international coalition against the Islamic State and has said it plans air strikes against the jihadists on Syrian territory without the consent of Damascus.
Syria and its ally Russia have warned that any unilateral U.S. military action on Syrian territory would be a violation of its sovereignty.
The deputy foreign minister is the latest in a string of Iranian officials to criticize U.S. efforts to wage war against the jihadists.
On Thursday, foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afhkham cast doubt on the "sincerity" of the coalition Washington is seeking to build.
Last week, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused the United States of not taking the threat from IS militants in Iraq and Syria seriously.
He also charged that U.S. aid had previously helped the jihadists, alluding to support given by Washington to other rebel groups in Syria, some of which has found its way into IS hands.
Iran has been Syrian President Bashar Assad's main regional ally since the revolt against his rule erupted in March 2011, and has also provided military advisers to the Shiite-led government in Iraq to help it battle the jihadists.
13 September 2014, 22:13
33
Well of course they will say that, no one really expected any different. Fact is, Iran and Maliki (their stooge at the time) wasted no time begging for US Air Force firepower to stop the advance of ISIS's blitzkrieg in June. With ISIS at Iran's doorsteps, one can understand their serious concern. What the Iranians have yet to understand and internalize is that extremism begets extremism and it is no surprise that ISIS came to exist.
Was it not Iran's I'll gained opposition to any agreement that would have kept a sizable US military presence in Iraq after Obama's ill conceived withdrawal from Iraq?
Not that ISIS is any better than Iranian Al Quds or it's proxy Lebanon's HA, but what does one expect when sectarianism rules the minds of idiotic politicians and dictators?
13 September 2014, 22:26
22
That said, and in fairness, President Obama maybe a good politician and lawyer but is totally lacking any leadership qualities. He missed the opportunity of supporting the secular Syrian opposition in direct opposition to his senior advisers (Hilary Clinton, Chuck Hagel and others in the defense establishment to name a few) and now has an even bigger and more complicated situation at hand.
Alas, US foreign policy under Obama is lacking in both depth and realism. Allowing the Jihadist threat to fester as it did created even bigger challenges that he now must deal with. It took the beheading of two Americans for him to move off of TDC as if the life's of almost 200K Syrians do not count.
Short sightedness at its best. When will the American establishment get it through its thick head that it is not possible for a superpower to disengage from the rest of the world and especially the ME?
14 September 2014, 02:55
31
افحمتني يا ف.ت. بمنطقكَ المفعم بالحجج و الحقائق و و.
خدنا بحلمك لأنو ما حدى شاطر متلك.
بس الحقيقة انّو بدّك فت خبز كتير قبل ما توصل لمستوى قريب من أيّ منطق ومِأت السنين قبل ما يحقلّك التعليق على منطق مي شدياق او غيرها.
14 September 2014, 03:29
33
Lebfirst is right Flamer. It's a combination of both Obama's and Iraq's incompetency that has allowed IS to make gains in Iraq. Also, Obama went against the advice of many political and military figures in regards to Syria. John McCain is perhaps the most outspoken about Obama's unwillingness to arm the moderate opposition, before Islamists took over.
