(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) In testimony to the House Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill Thursday, US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel appeared to indicate that cooperation with Iran against ISIL is a possibility down the line.
While being questioned by Republican Congressman Hank Johnson from Georgia on "what interests the US and Iran have jointly," Hagel responded, "each sovereign country in the Middle East must protect its own interests as Iran certainly is doing," adding the US and Iran "have joint concerns but not joint cooperation." He noted that "ISIL is a threat to Iran. It's a threat to the entire region. But at the same time we, the United States, are not coordinating with Iran," and then described it as "a state sponsor of terror." "Do you see joint cooperation being a possibility?" Johnson asked.
"That's not our policy, and it may someday be possible," Hagel said. "I'm all for cooperation and getting along in the world in peace.
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