Speaking in a cultural ceremony in Iran’s northern province of Mazandaran, Ali Larijani deplored what he called the US Congress’ unanimous decision to fund the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorist group.
He said such a move comes against the backdrop of Washington’s self-proclaimed war on terrorism.
“With US’s permission, its allies also send weapons and munitions to the ISIL and support it in order to pit the Shiite and Sunni Muslims against each other,” he explained.
As regards the tense security situation in Iraq, Larijani said Washington and its Arab allies in the Middle East have been behind instigating instability in that country.
He noted that the US and its regional allies only “seek to wage Shiite-Sunni wars in Iraq and wage ethnic and sectarian wars among Muslims.”
The ISIL is a militant group in Iraq and Syria believed to be supported by the West and some regional Arab countries. The terrorist group claims as an independent state the territory of Iraq and Syria, with implied future claims intended over more of the Levant, including Lebanon, occupied Palestine, Jordan, Cyprus, and Southern Turkey.
In addition to attacks on government and military targets, the group has claimed responsibility for attacks that have killed thousands of Iraqi civilians.
In early June, following its large-scale offensives in Iraq, ISIL seized control of most parts of Mosul, the second most populous city in Iraq and its surrounding Nineveh province.