(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) The US will not discuss security options with Iran despite the looming threat presented by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the region, and the plans President Barack Obama announced Friday to bolster Iraqi security forces.
"We are not talking to the Iranians about Iraq," State Department Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf told reporters.
Harf added, "All of Iraq's neighbors, including the Iranians, need to not do things to destabilize the situation even further, to not try to promote any sectarian tensions." The spokesperson mentioned the US is talking "With the countries that border Iraq, Turkey, with other countries as well, with the Gulf countries, with Saudi Arabia" and also "people back here in Washington, people in the embassies." She reiterated that the US is not looking to send combat troops to Iraq but, "we are talking about short-term options here to help support the Iraqis in what is a very serious fight at the moment." Earlier, US Secretary of State John Kerry confirmed Iran to be on the list of countries threatened in the region by ISIL terrorist group.
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