Press release
7 September 2014
US should not involve Iran to confront ISIS
The European Iraqi Freedom Association (EIFA) strongly condemns any direct or indirect involvement of the Iranian regime in the war against the terrorist group ISIS. Iran is part of the problem. Such cooperation could lead to a greater catastrophe and a still more complex situation.
The Iranian regime has been the principal threat to peace and security in the region and its suppressive and sectarian policies in Syria and Iraq have contributed and resulted in the creation and spread of ISIS. Terrorism and radical Islam will not be diminished without a real change in Iran, who are the main state sponsors of terrorism. Involving the mullahs in the war with ISIS could enable this regime further to jeopardize peace and stability. It could also quickly turn this legitimate war against ISIS into a Shia-Sunni conflict instead of a war by the Iraqi people as a whole against this group. Spreading terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism will be a certain outcome of such cooperation with Iran.
Tehran’s political, military and terrorist interference has engulfed the whole region, from Iraq to Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, in war and bloodshed; thus every day a greater number of people in these countries are slaughtered. In his speech in Mashhad on September 6, President Hassan Rouhani, acknowledged Iran’s involvement and said: “Were it not for the Iranian government and people’s assistance, we would not today be witnessing the relative calm in Iraq and the cleansing of cities and the regions from the barbaric terrorists… Were it not for the resolve of the Iranian government and people, we would not today be witness to the victory of the people of Gaza over the criminal Zionist regime. Today, the relative security in Syria and Lebanon is due to the endeavours of the Iranian government and people.”
EIFA once again stresses that the establishment of peace and democracy in Iraq unequivocally requires the adoption of a resolute policy against the Iranian regime and the removal from Iraq of the terrorist militias affiliated with it. EIFA underscores the responsibility of the United States and the new Iraqi PM in this respect.
Struan Stevenson
President, European Iraqi Freedom Association (EIFA)
