Tehran , YJC. -- Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said on Monday that Tehran rejected Washington's request for help in fighting the ISIL (also known as IS or ISIS) in Iraq. hands that shed innocent blood
"The U.S. ambassador to Iraq requested Iran's
help in fighting ISIL but I disagreed because their hands are shedding [innocence people's] bloods," he said,
Iran's ISNA News Agency reported on Sept.15.
"The U.S. foreign minister
also made the same request to [Iran Foreign Minister] Mr. Zarif, but he rejected
the request too," Iran's leader explained.
Iran’s leader went on to note
that the U.S. plan to form an international coalition for fighting the ISIL is
absurd.
"The move that occurred in Iraq and broke backbone of the ISIL was not
performed by Americans, but it was done by the Iraqi people, army and
popular forces, and the American themselves, as well as the ISIL, are
aware of the reality,” the Leader said on Monday, after being discharged
from hospital following a last week’s surgery.
"The United States aims to have military presence in
the Middle East through fighting ISIL militants," he said.
Ayatollah Khamenei also pointed to the contradictions in words and deeds of the US officials, stressing that the main objective behind the US plan to battle the ISIL is to have military presence in the region.
The Leader’s remarks follow Washington’s bid to build global support for military action against the ISIL.
US Secretary of State John Kerry has been touring the Middle East in recent days to rally support for the fight against extremists in Iraq and Syria.
Earlier in September, Ayatollah Khamenei had underlined that the terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda and the ISIL have been created by the West and its regional proxies.
"Although, the Western countries, particularly the US, claim that they have nothing to do with these groups (al-Qaeda and ISIL), there is ample evidence suggesting that these movements have been fabricated by Western powers and their regional elements,” Ayatollah Khamenei said on September 4.