International community must back Iraq against terrorists: Iran official

The chief of staff of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says Iraq needs support by the international community in its fight against the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorist group.

“The management of the campaign against terrorism in Iraq rests with the country’s nation and government. It is the international community’s duty to lend them the necessary support and assistance upon the Iraqi government’s request,” Mohammad Nahavandian said in a meeting with visiting Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Thursday.

Nahavandian also stated that experience learnt through crises in Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq has shown that foreign intervention would not help resolve conflicts.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant would not have been able to establish itself in the region and Iraq if the international community had sought to contain terrorist groups ever since the crisis broke out in Syria more than three years ago, the Iranian official said.

During the meeting, Brende, for his part, condemned inhumane attacks by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, calling for a political solution to the ongoing crisis in Iraq.

The Norwegian foreign minister also warned that the growing spate of violence in the Arab country would spiral out of control if there is no immediate resolution to the issue.

On June 10, the ISIL militants took control of the city of Mosul, the capital of Iraq’s Nineveh Province. The militants later took control of the city of Tikrit, located about 140 kilometers (87 miles) northwest of the capital, Baghdad.