John Kerry against Iran in US coalition

Ankara/Tehran/Washington: US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday that it was “not appropriate” for Iran to join talks on confronting Islamic State militants, as he appeared to play down how fast countries can commit to force or other steps in an emerging coalition.While Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, accused the US on Saturday of violating the sovereignty of nations on the “pretext of fighting terrorism” in Iraq and Syria.

Accusing Iran of being “a state sponsor of terror” and backing Syria’s brutal regime, Mr Kerry said it would be inappropriate for Iranian officials to join an Iraq conference in Paris on Monday to discuss how to curb a jihadist movement that has seized a third of both Iraq and Syria. Tehran has described the coalition as “shrouded in serious ambiguities”.Mr Shamkhani, meanwhile, said that Washington was “trying to divert the eyes of the world from its pivotal role in supporting and equipping the terrorists in Syria in a bid to topple the legitimate regime.”

The speaker of Iranian parliament Ali Larijani warned the US that launching strikes against Iran’s ally Syria as part of its campaign against the jihadists of the Islamic State group would be “playing with fire”.The United States is building an international coalition against the Islamic State and has said it plans air strikes against the jihadists on Syrian territory without the consent of Damascus.

Mr Kerry won backing on Thursday for a "coordinated military campaign" against Islamic State from 10 Arab countries.

President Barack Obama has chosen retired Marine Corps General John Allen, who earlier served as the commander of the US and Nato forces in Afghanistan, to head the coalition. “In this role, General Allen will help build and sustain the coalition so it can operate across multiple lines of effort in order to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL (sic),” Mr Kerry said.