A senior Iranian official has confirmed that the country carried out airstrikes against the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq on the request of the Baghdad government and that it was not conducted in collaboration with the U.S.
The deputy foreign minister Ebrahim Rahimpour said that the purpose of the airstrikes was 'the defence of the interests' of the Baghdad government and the Kurdish autonomous region in northern Iraq, reported the Guardian.
Rahimpour said that Iran did not have any coordination with the U.S., adding that the country only coordinated with the Iraqi government.
He also said that Iran's assistance to Iraq is stronger than their assistance to Syria because of the physical proximity between the two countries.
Rahimpour said after attending an internation conference in London this week that the number of Iranian advisers currently present in Iraq was not known to him.
