America’s anti-ISIS coalition is “ridiculous” says Iran’s President

Tehran (IraqiNews.com) The Iranian President Hassan Rohani condemned the barbaric acts committed by the organization of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and criticized America’s plans to form an international coalition to confront this organization in Iraq as “ridiculous.”

Rohani said in an interview with the American network NBC and followed by IraqiNews.com, that “Are Americans afraid of giving casualties on the ground in Iraq? Are they afraid of their soldiers being killed in the fight they claim is against terrorism?”

“If they want to use planes and if they want to use unmanned planes so that nobody is injured from the Americans, is it really possible to fight terrorism without any hardship, without any sacrifice? Is it possible to reach a big goal without that? In all regional and international issues, the victorious one is the one who is ready to do sacrifice.

“Maybe it is necessary for airstrikes in some conditions and some circumstances,” he added. “However, air strikes should take place with the permission of the people of that country and the government of that country.”

Asked about the extremists’ beheading of American James Foley and Steven Sotloff and Briton David Haines, Rouhani said ISIS’ actions are at odds with Islamic tenets.

“They want to kill humanity,” he said. “And from the viewpoint of the Islamic tenets and culture, killing an innocent people equals the killing of the whole humanity. And therefore, the killing and beheading of innocent people in fact is a matter of shame for them and it’s the matter of concern and sorrow for all the human and all the mankind.”

Rohani stated that Iran will provide any support requested by Iraq to confront ISIS and emphasized the need to protect Shia holy places.

“When we say the red line we mean the red line,” Rouhani said. “It means we will not allow Baghdad to be occupied by the terrorists or the religious sites such as Karbala or Najaf be occupied by the terrorists.”