Iran security head claims US seeks to resurrect Islamic State
A top Iranian official attributed the ouster of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq to Tehran-backed militias while claiming that Washington seeks to revive the extremist group.
The secretary of Iran's powerful Supreme National Security Council has said the United States is seeking to resurrect the Islamic State across Iraq and Syria.
Ali Shamkhani gave credit for IS' "defeat" to "the resistance front," an umbrella term Iran applies to a network of proxies it funds and arms across the Middle East. "America is deeply infuriated" by such victory, Shamkhani declared.
The former defense minister, who rose through the ranks of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, made the comments at a Dec. 7 meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad in Tehran.
Iran has been a relentless critic of the US presence in the Middle East, accusing Washington of funding terrorism and inciting sectarian violence there.
