Iranian president declares end of Islamic State

[alp227]

Source: Reuters

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani declared the end of Islamic State on Tuesday in an address broadcast live on state TV.

A senior commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Major General Qassem Soleimani, also declared the end of Islamic State in a message sent to the country’s supreme leader Tuesday which was published on Sepah News, the news site of the Guards.

Videos and pictures of Soleimani, who commands the Quds Force, the branch of the Guards responsible for operations outside of Iran’s borders, at frontline positions in battles against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria have been posted frequently by Iranian media in recent years.

Last week, Iranian media published pictures of Soleimani at Albu Kamal in eastern Syria, a town which Soleimani said Tuesday was the last territory retaken from Islamic State control in the region.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-rouhani-islamic-state/iranian-president-declares-end-of-islamic-state-idUSKBN1DL0J5

[JI7]

1. aren't they in Africa now ?

[applegrove]

2. That is what I thought. They are.

[RDANGELO]

3. That's a strange thing for them to announce.

Iran is an Islamic state.

[BeyondGeography]

8. They are happy to declare the end of the Sunni Islamic State

since one of their main goals was exterminating Shia. But yeah, there is some irony as many Iranians would actually prefer a secular, Mossadegh-style democracy to an Islamic Republic.

[LeftInTX]

4. Strange wording...I assume they are talking about ISIS?

Reuters could have done a better job of translating...

[jmowreader]

5. "Islamic State" is the current name of ISIS

Someone checked with the Islamic State leadership to make sure they were going to disband, correct? If not, we're looking at either...



or

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. Since Iran's full name is the "Islamic Republic of Iran", this made me do a double take

I thought he was saying he was taking the "Islamic" out of the state of Iran, until I read on. Which would have basically been a coup.

[BumRushDaShow]

7. ISIL is Sunni and Iran is Shia

and the declaration could also be a shot across the bow of Saudi, which is quickly re-configuring itself within the kingdom power structure (where many believe they supported ISIL).

[KY_EnviroGuy]

9. This will make tRump furious....

Because he or Putin didn't proclaim it first.

ISIS actually will be with us for a long time in fragmented form, but I take this announcement to mean as an active territorial occupation in their region.

[Wolf Frankula]

10. Don't Worry. The CIA will find more 'moderates' to fund

in the name of 'regime change'. They always do. We'll see another funnymentalist Muslim outfit in a little while.

Wolf