Iran Confirms Consultations with World States on Fight against ISIL
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran is holding consultations with different countries, including the European states, to coordinate efforts aimed at fighting with the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorist group operating in Iraq, an Iranian spokesperson said.
Speaking to reporters at her weekly press conference on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham did not rule out the recent comments by British Prime Minster David Cameron, who has alluded to the possibility of Tehran-London cooperation to eradicate the terrorist threats posed by the ISIL.
Last week, Cameron wrote in The Sunday Telegraph that the West must cooperate with the Middle East countries including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey to encounter the extremist group.
As regards the procedures to counter terrorists in Iran’s western neighbor, Afkham stressed, “Iran launches such talks within the framework of the international regulations and according to the Iraqi government’s view, and welcomes them (the talks).”
The ISIL is a militant group that 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.
