Iran will "consider" joint action with US in Iraq, Hassan Rouhani says

By Robert Tait

Iran's president has given the clearest hint yet that Tehran is prepared to cast aside 35 years of hostility in an alliance of convenience with the US to combat Sunni militants in Iraq

Iran will consider joining forces with the United States to combat Sunni militants in Iraq, Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian president, said on Saturday in the clearest sign yet that the Islamic Republic is ready to set aside its decades-old enmity with Washington.

The Iranian leader's cautiously worded remarks came at a news conference in Tehran amid rising speculation that the recent gains of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) could force the two adversaries to forge an alliance of convenience. "All countries need to embark on joint effort regarding terrorism," Mr Rouhani said after being asked if Iran was prepared to cooperate with America in Iraq.

"At the moment, it's the government of Iraq and the people of Iraq that are fighting terrorism. "We have not seen the US do anything for now. Any time the Americans start to take action against terrorist groups, we can consider that."

He said Iran was ready to assist Iraq "in the framework of international law" but that, so far, Baghdad had not asked for Tehran's help.

His comments followed reports that a senior Iranian official had said the Islamic Republic was willing to cooperate with America – despite deep-rooted ideological differences – to bolster Iraq's Shia-led government. "We can work with Americans to end the insurgency in the Middle East," the unnamed official told Reuters, adding that the idea was being discussed internally within the Iranian leadership.

Such cooperation would not be unprecedented. Iran is known to have quietly assisted America in overthrowing the hard-line Taliban regime in Afghanistan in 2001, although relations between the two countries quickly reverted to their previous enmity.

While leaving the possibility open, Mr Rouhani made it plain that suspicions remain by blaming America and its allies for supporting Islamist rebels in the civil war in neighbouring Syria, Iran's close ally. "Where did these terrorist groups emerge from? They came from Syria," he said. "The problem is, why should Western countries, why should America, support terrorist groups? We warned them a year ago that these terrorist groups were a danger for the whole region. [But] they sent them arms – or their colleagues in the region sent them arms."

Separately, Mr Rouhani said Iran was ready to conclude a definitive deal over its nuclear programme. The six world powers comprising the US, Britain, Russia, China, France and Germany had concluded that Iran would have the right to uranium enrichment, he said.

He also said negotiations could continue beyond the July 20 deadline if no agreement was reached by then.