13 June 2014
US pledges military support to Iraq, Iran considers cooperating with US
On 12 June, the United States President Barack Obama pledged military support to Iraq, possibly including air strikes, in order to halt militants from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), who want to set up their own state in Iraq and Syria. Nevertheless, Washington said that the primary responsibility for security in Iraq rests with the Iraqi government and criticised Baghdad for the failure to secure national assistance with more inclusive policies.
Furthermore, Reuters reports that a senior Iranian official stated that Iran considers cooperating with the US in helping Iraq fight back, by providing arms and advisers. The Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Thursday that ‘Iran will not tolerate the terror and violence … we will fight against terrorism, factionalism and violence’. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif urged the international community to aid Iraq ‘in its fight against terrorism’.
According to The Guardian, Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki bears responsibility for the security collapse, but the Obama administration as well. Russia’s foreign minister Sergey V. Lavrov said that ‘the adventurism’ of the United States and the United Kingdom led to the destabilisation of Iraq. Lavrov accused the US of withdrawing its forces too early, without concluding its task of preparing the military of Iraq to protect the country.
Source: Reuters | Exclusive: Alarmed by Iraq, Iran open to shared role with U.S. - Iran official
Source: The Guardian | Obama pledges US support to Iraq as Isis militants approach Baghdad
Source: The New York Times | Russia Sees American ‘Adventurism’ in Iraq Behind Current Conflict
Source: The Guardian | Security collapse in Iraqi city of Mosul is not solely Maliki's responsibility