BAGHDAD: Iranian fighter jets are pounding positions of extremist group Islamic State inside Iraq, footage shot by regional media showed. An Iranian McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II jets were shown striking ISIS targets in the eastern Iraqi province of Diyala.
While the IRIAF is known to have contributed Sukhoi Su-25 ‘Frogfoot’ ground attack aircraft to the fight against the extremist group in Iraq (ostensibly donated to the Iraqi Air Force, but believed to be crewed by Iranian pilots), this footage is the first visual evidence of direct IRIAF involvement in the conflict.
The Al Jazeera footage, which was shot on 30 November, shows the IRIAF F-4 supporting Iraqi forces retaking the town of Sa’adiya in what was purported to be the government’s largest operation against the Islamic State since June.
“We are aware of that. I wouldn’t say we’re necessarily concerned with it – we kind of have our eyes on it,” a US official told The Huffington Post, adding that Iran is bombing targets close to its own border with Iraq.
The US is currently leading its own airstrike campaign – assisted by Western allies like the UK and regional partners like Saudi Arabia – against Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL) in Iraq and Syria, countries where the group has come to control large swaths of territory.
The officials claims come days after IHS Janes Defence Weekly, a British defense analysis organization, and Israeli news outlet Haaretz both reported that an Iranian jet had flown through Iraqi airspace.
“We are there pretty heavily in the air if you include [intelligence collection], so just looking at those facts we have a pretty good picture of what’s happening in Iraqi airspace, the official said. We would not be operating in Iraq without having a clear picture.”
Iran is closely allied with the neighboring Iraqi government and peoples militias that have vowed to fight ISIS.
Tehran was first to offer assistance to Iraq to counter Islamic State. Then the US began its bombing campaign against Islamic State in August, first targeting the group in Iraq before adding airstrikes in Syria.
The White House would not comment on the defense officials claims to Huffington Post. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
US officials have acknowledged that, in conducting airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, it is operating within Irans spectre. The defense official told Huffington Post that the US would only react if Tehran threatened American military advisers on the ground in Iraq.
“We are there at the invitation of the Iraqi government,” he said. “It’s not like it was in 2010. We’re there at the invitation of the Iraqi government, so it’s not for us to say what they should allow, what they shouldn’t allow.”
It’s their country. Our only concern would be if there are any type of force protection issues. Like I said, we have a pretty good understanding of what’s in the air.”
The US has also claimed that it would like to avoid jeopardizing the ongoing negotiations over Irans nuclear program. Those talks are set to resume this month.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said last month that the US and Iran were not working in tandem against Islamic State.
“We won’t share intelligence with them, but their interest in this outcome is something that’s been widely commented upon and something that on a couple of occasions has been discussed on the sidelines of other conversations,” he said.
For its part, Irans leadership has made clear it is not targeting Islamic State in efforts to assist the US.
In September, Irans supreme leader Ayatollah Syed Ali Khamenei said that the US offered to discuss a coordinated effort with Iran against Islamic State.
The American ambassador in Iraq asked our ambassador (in Iraq) for a session to discuss coordinating a fight against Daesh (Islamic State), said Syed Khamenei, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
Our ambassador in Iraq reflected this to us, which was welcomed by some (Iranian) officials, but I was opposed. I saw no point in cooperating with a country whose hands are dirty and intentions murky.”
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