US WILL NOT LINK IRAN’S NUCLEAR TALKS WITH FIGHT AGAINST ISIS

Washington, 29 Dzulqa’dah 1435/24 September 2014 (MINA) – The United States announced yesterday that it refuses to link talks over Iran’s nuclear program with efforts to form an international alliance to fight the Islamic State (ISIS), the Anadolu news agency reported.

Reuters quoted senior Iranian officials as saying that Tehran is ready to help the West in the fight against ISIS if the West showed flexibility in the negotiations over its nuclear program.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, during a press briefing yesterday: “The United States will not be in the position of trading aspects of Iran’s nuclear program to secure commitments to take on the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (ISIS).” Middle East Monitor (MEMO) quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

The six world powers, or P5+1 which include the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia, plus Germany, are in the process of holding negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program which the West says is aimed at producing nuclear weapons, a charge denied by Tehran which insists that its program is designed for peaceful purposes.

Earnest said: “It is not in the interest of the Iranian regime to allow this terrorist organisation to wreak havoc on its doorstep.”

Iran enjoys considerable influence in Iraq as well as in Syria where it supports the regime of President Bashar Al-Assad in its fight against ISIS.

The US spokesman said that the United States would not coordinate the coalition’s military activities or exchange intelligence with the Iranians.

He said: “The Iranian nuclear file and the international coalition to fight [ISIS] are two separate issues.”

The United States has been working to rally the support of more than 40 regional and Western nations in an international alliance to combat the radical organisation in Syria and Iraq. (T/P002/P3)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)