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03/28/2024 11:51:37 am

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Iranian Fighter Jets Join Fight Against Islamic State

There had been reports of Iranian air strikes in Diyala province, where Iraqi forces have been battling IS.

(Photo : Reuters) There had been reports of Iranian air strikes in Diyala province, where Iraqi forces have been battling IS.


The Pentagon confirmed Wednesday reports that Iranian fighter jets pounded Islamic State positions in Eastern Iraq last week, while this week U.S.-led coalition aircraft staged at least 25 strikes against Islamic State positions in Syria and western Iraq.


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Attacks by Iranian F4 Phantom Jets, Cold War relics but still effective, took place with no public disclosure and weren't coordinated with U.S. military efforts against IS advances in Iraq and Syria, according to Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman.

Those disclosures of Iranian military activity coincided with a meeting this week of the U.S.-led international coalition against the Islamic State being chaired by Secretary of State John Kerry at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

Ministers at the Brussels meeting were discussing military and political strategies to combat IS propaganda and curtail the flow of foreign fighters into IS ranks.

While the U.S. has said it wouldn't coordinate operations with Iran although they shared similar views of the Islamic State, also called ISIS and ISIL, Iraqi authorities said they had asked for the air support in Eastern Diyala province near the Iranian border. Iraq said it was responsible for making sure coalition aircraft weren't in the area during Iranian Air Force operations.

Iran's Fars news agency quoted Brig. Gen. Massoud Jazayeri, deputy chief of staff of Iran's military, saying the U.S. was responsible for the unrest in Iraq and the region and Iran hadn't coordinated military activity with the U.S.-led coalition.

However, Sia Muslim-ruled Iran went beyond its previous mission of supplying the Iraqi Air Force with Soviet-built Su-25 attack jets to attack on its own, sources agreed.

Iranian F-4 Phantom fighter jet attacks were filmed by Al Jazeera over Diyala province in areas near the Iranian border under attack by IS forces. Jane's Defense Weekly identified the aircraft from the film. The air strikes helped Iraqi forces retake two key towns, sources said.

The U.S. command center in Qatar has been coordinating a steady stream of coalition air strikes including drones, bombers, surveillance aircraft and fighter jets. These attacks are going 24/7 in the region with U.S., European Union, Australian and Canadian aircraft pounding IS targets.

While the U.S. and Iran share common interests in defending Iraq's government, interests in Syria are diametrically opposed. The U.S has called for the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime while Iran provides key military backing to Assad.

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