Iranian fighter jets strike IS

Air raids signal Teheran's larger role in battling insurgents in Iraq

Iranian fighter jets have struck Islamic State militants in eastern Iraq in recent days, the Pentagon said on Tuesday, signaling Teheran's determination to confront the extremists and Washington's tacit partnership with Iran.

The air raids marked an escalation in Iran's role in a conflict that has seen Teheran and Washington set aside their customary hostility to battle a common enemy in the Islamic State group, which both governments view as a dangerous threat.

"We have indications that they did indeed fly airstrikes with F-4 Phantoms in the past several days," Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said.

His comments came days after Al-Jazeera ran footage of what appeared to be an F-4 fighter, similar to those used by the Iranian air force, attacking targets in the eastern province of Diyala.

Iranian forces have been active on the ground in Iraq, assisting Shiite militia and Baghdad government units, but this was the first time the United States had confirmed the Iranian air force was conducting strikes against the Islamic State group.

Kirby said the United States was not coordinating with Iranian forces, and that it was up to the Iraqi government to oversee military flights by other countries.

"We are flying missions over Iraq. We coordinate with the Iraqi government as we conduct those. It's up to the Iraqi government to deconflict that air space," Kirby said.

No policy change

"Nothing has changed about our policy of not coordinating military activity with the Iranians," Kirby said.

A US air command center in Qatar coordinates US fighters, bombers, drones and surveillance aircraft that fly round-the-clock missions over Iraq along with other coalition warplanes from European governments as well as Australia and Canada.

The onslaught of the Islamic State group in Iraq has forged an unlikely alignment between Iran and the United States, which have had unfriendly relations for more than three decades.

The fight against the IS has come amid a US diplomatic drive to make a deal with Iran over its nuclear program, and officials said the two sides have discussed the war in Iraq on the sidelines of the nuclear talks.

But the two rivals remain deeply opposed over Syria, with Iran providing crucial military backing for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad while Washington has vowed to train a moderate rebel force to eventually confront Damascus.

Analysts and former US officials said neither country appears ready to pursue elaborate cooperation for military operations in Iraq, but there appears to be some level of tactical communication at least to avoid accidents.

(China Daily 12/04/2014 page12)