Iran Proposed Coordinating Aid to Maliki Govt
by Jason Ditz, June 15, 2014
US officials, who were not named, were quoted by the BBC tonight as saying the Obama Administration is considering direct talks with Iran on the worsening situation in Iraq.
As the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) takes more and more of Iraq, Iran has provided a number of Quds Force personnel to aid in Baghdad and Karbala, and an Iranian general is said to be in charge of coordinating the defense of Baghdad personally.Iranian President Hassan Rouhaniwas already talking up a joint operation with the US to save Iraq’s Maliki government, but as of yesterday the US was presenting Iran’s involvement in the defense of Iraq as a matter of “concern,” not something to welcome.
Indeed, while both Iran and the Obama Administration are on good terms with Maliki, making such talks entirely plausible, the US has long spurned any but the most cursory ties with Iran, and a joint operation would be a massive change in US policy.
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