The Hill – 03 Dec 2014 – The White House insisted Wednesday that it will not coordinate military action with Iran against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) amid reports that Tehran is attacking the terror group.
“At this point our calculation about the wisdom of cooperating militarily with the Iranians has not changed,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said. “We’re not going to do it.”
Earnest said the administration had no reason to dispute the reports of Iranian airstrikes in Iraq’s Diyala province, and that the U.S. had “the area under surveillance.”
The press secretary also confirmed that top administration officials and Democratic lawmakers discussed Iran policy Wednesday at the White House, and that Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) wasn’t attending.
Menendez has been a thorn in the White House’s side on Iran policy, repeatedly calling for additional sanctions against Tehran amid the ongoing nuclear talks.