Lack of Trust Keeps Iran, US Away From Coalition

Associated Press

Iran and the United States share a common enemy in the Islamic State militant group, but a deep-seated lack of trust has so far kept the longtime foes from publicly joining hands in a coalition to defeat the extremists.

Their inability to work together complicates efforts to beat back the extremists that both Washington and Tehran see as a threat, and has left Iraq's new government — which considers both countries allies — scratching its head as it tries to tackle the most serious threat to its stability since American troops left in 2011.

Iraq's new prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, made his frustration clear in a recent interview with The Associated Press, saying U.S. pressure to keep Iran away from talks in Paris aimed at combatting the militant threat had left him "in a very difficult position."

"I actually find it puzzling that we hold a conference in Paris to help Iraq and to fight terrorism and ... the biggest neighbor of Iraq — Iran — is excluded," he said.

Iran is convinced the United States wants to use the fight against the Islamic State group as a pretext to strike Tehran's ally, Syrian President Bashar Assad. Rejecting any cooperation with Assad, Washington is planning airstrikes against the Islamic State group in Syria and says it will beef up Syrian rebels to fill the void as it drives out the extremists.

Iranian officials are even skeptical the U.S. really opposes the Islamic State group, since it is fighting Assad, whom the U.S. wants removed from power. On Tuesday, the top commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard dismissed the anti-Islamic State group coalition as "a show."

"There is not much hope in this coalition since they've set it up for their own objectives," Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari said. "We have serious doubts that this coalition seeks to destroy the Islamic State."

Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, also has ruled out cooperating with the United States in helping Iraq fight Islamic State militants. Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations on Wednesday in New York, he expressed doubts about Washington's willingness and ability to fight the group "across the board."

The United States is wary of furthering Iranian influence in Iraq by bringing it into the fight. It also does not want to alienate key Sunni countries it is trying to rally behind its coalition, like Saudi Arabia, which is Iran's top rival in the region.

Nevertheless, Iran has already been closely involved in the fight. Iranian-backed Iraqi Shiite militias have been leading some of the fighting against the group on the ground. Iranian Revolutionary Guard advisers in Iraq have helped coordinate between militias and the Iraqi military against the extremists, according to Iraqi officials.

Iran has publicly confirmed that it has provided military advice to Iraqis including Kurds to fight the Islamic State militants but has denied sending forces or shipping weapons.

Zarif says Iran's assistance — without any troops — helped Iraq prevent the Islamic State group from taking over Baghdad and the Kurdish capital Irbil.

Washington and Tehran have been in back-room contacts about cooperation for weeks, and leaders of the two countries — who talked a year ago — are arriving next week for the annual ministerial meeting of the U.N. General Assembly. Within Iran's diplomatic circles, some moderate voices supported an alliance with the U.S. against the militants.