◼ Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei mocked President Barack Obama’s strategy to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL or ISIS) just days after being released from the hospital and claimed that Secretary of State John Kerry, as well as other top U.S. officials, pleaded with Iran to join the coalition against the terror group, according to regional reports. - Washington Free Beacon
Khamenei went on to claim that Kerry himself had asked the Iranians to team up with the United States against ISIL, a request that Tehran apparently rejected, according to the report. The rejection raises further questions about the level of coordination between the United States and Iran when it comes to ISIL, a terror group that both nations oppose.
“During the days I was at the hospital, I had fun listening to the remarks of the U.S. officials on fighting [ISIL],” Khamenei was shown as saying on Iranian television in public comments as he left the hospital following his surgery last week.
While the U.S. State Department has publicly maintained that Iran is not welcome in its international collation against ISIL, Khamenei claimed that Kerry and other U.S. officials had originally asked Iran to partner with it.
“The same U.S. secretary of state had personally demanded [that Iranian Foreign Minister Javad] Zarif, and called for cooperation with us on [ISIL] but Dr. Zarif had rejected his demand,” Khamenei claimed.
