Iran will help Iraq if requested: Top official

A spokesperson for the Iranian administration says Iran will help Iraq fight the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) Takfiri militants, if requested by the Iraqi government.

“If Iraq’s government requests help in countering the terrorists, we will assist the people and government of Iraq,” Mohammad-Baqer Nobakht said on Wednesday.

Referring to the first session of Iraq’s new parliament, Nobakht expressed hope that the representatives of the nation would “identify the objectives of the big powers and Zionist regime and bear in mind their own national interests,” adding, “The Zionist regime is counting down the minutes for disintegration of Iraq.”

On Tuesday, the first session of Iraq’s newly elected parliament was adjourned for a week without choosing a new speaker.

The crisis in Iraq escalated after the ISIL militants took control of Mosul in a lightning advance on June 10, which was followed by the fall of Tikrit, located 140 kilometers (87 miles) northwest of the capital Baghdad.

An estimated 1.2 million people have been displaced in Iraq so far this year, according to the United Nations.

The ISIL has vowed to continue its raid towards Baghdad. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has said that the country’s security forces would confront the terrorists, calling the seizure of Mosul a “conspiracy.”

Soldiers of the Iraqi army have been engaged in heavy fighting with the militants on different fronts and have so far been able to push back militants in several areas including in Tikrit.