Iran: IS a ‘Frankenstein’ created by other nations
Iranian FM says terrorist group cannot be defeated with airstrikes, rules out cooperation with US
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Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called the Islamic State group Wednesday a “dangerous phenomenon,” but warned it could not be defeated by airstrikes.
Accusing other nations of having created “a Frankenstein that has come to haunt its creators,” Zarif said at a Washington think tank that the Islamic terrorists cannot be “eradicated through aerial bombardments,” nor can they be contained.
He also ruled out cooperating with the United States in helping Iraq fight IS.
Speaking at the Council for Foreign Relations, Zarif again expressed regret that Iran had not been invited to Paris talks to discuss the threat of the Islamic State organization, saying Tehran can play a central role in dealing with the group.
But he dismissed as a “conspiracy theory” US accusations that Syrian President Bashar Assad had turned a blind eye to the group in order to complicate the fight of the moderate Syrian rebels battling to oust his regime.
Zarif also said that Iran did not back foreign military adventures into the region, unless they were invited in by the government.
He said that Iran has serious doubts about the willingness and ability of the United States to react seriously to the “menace” from the Islamic State group “across the board,” not just choosing where to confront it as it has just started doing in Iraq.
He called the 24 participating nations at the conference “a coalition of repenters” because most have supported the Islamic State group for years.
The Times of Israel Community.