Iran slams ‘ridiculous’ US coalition as Congress funds arms against ISIS

Without committing ground troops to the cause, a coalition led by the United States against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria is a “ridiculous” enterprise, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday.

 

Rouhani made the damning comments to NBC News the same day senior Iranian and US officials met privately in New York over its nuclear program, and as US President Barack Obama, in Florida, recommitted to a campaign against Islamic State exclusively using air force alone.

 

“I want to be clear,” Obama said from MacDill Air Force Base. “The American forces that have been deployed to Iraq do not and will not have a combat mission.”

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