Iran's President Pledges To Back Iraq Amid String Of Bombings

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

By NASSER KARIMI and SAMEER N. YACOUB
Posted: 10/21/2014 8:32 am EDT Updated: 21 minutes ago

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Shiite powerhouse Iran has pledged enduring support for the Shiite-led government of Iraq in its battle against an ascendant Sunni insurgency spearheaded by the Islamic State group.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi on Tuesday that Iran has supported Baghdad "from the first day and will remain on that path until the last day," according to a report by the official IRNA news agency.

It was Abadi's first foreign visit since taking office in September.

"Choosing Iran as my first destination after taking office indicates the depth of ties," he said, according to IRNA. "Terrorism is a threat to all regional countries and we are sure Iran will stand by us."

The Iran-Iraq alliance highlights some of the complex political dynamics spawned by the emergence of the Islamic State group as a major threat earlier this year. The radical Sunni militia has captured and held large swaths of territory in eastern Syria and northwestern Iraq, including the major northern Iraqi city of Mosul, and threatens to expand southward toward Baghdad.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/21/iran-iraq-isis_n_6020644.html

[blm]

1. YES! Kerry's wisdom, patience and determination is playing out.

This is a welcome development for the region and for its future.

[ColesCountyDem]

2. Kerry's doing a good job, but don't you think Preisdent Obama might have had a little to do with it?

[blm]

3. Obama knows to trust Kerry on these issues for that region.

Unlike most people, Obama has become very familiar with the expertise Kerry is bringing to the table - his knowledge of every aspect of the governments, and their cultures and religions, and with an encyclopedic accuracy of its dealings with US over the last century. IranContra, BCCI, Iraqgate, CIA drug running - Kerry knows who he is dealing with. Obama knows why he tapped Kerry for this work.