Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araqchi said the western states have launched the so-called coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in an effort to divert the world attention from their support for this and other similar terrorist groups.
"The foreign powers and the Zionist regime have supported these groups, and what is done now (with regard to the formation of an anti-ISIL coalition) is meant to distract attention of the world public opinion from the powers' supports" for the very same groups, Araqchi told reporters on the sidelines of the 53rd annual meeting of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO) in Tehran on Monday.
He further described Iran as a pioneer in the campaign against terrorism, and said, "At present, the world has admitted Iran's role in the war on terrorism and protection of the stability in the region."
Araqchi underlined that Iran has also adopted some legal and political measures both formally and informally to unveil the true face and nature of these terrorist groups which are not at all related to Islam.
NATO heads of state convened in the Welsh city of Newport on 4-5 September and US Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told foreign and defense ministers participating in the NATO summit that the US was forming a broad international coalition against ISIL.
Ministers from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, Australia, Turkey, Italy, Poland and Denmark met in Wales to hammer out a strategy for battling ISIL, but the policy was questioned by many regional officials and political leaders.
After the so-called US-led coalition against the ISIL declared its creation, Iran lashed out at the western states for pursuing a double-standard policy towards campaign against terrorism in various countries.
“Iran believes in a real and nonselective fight against terrorism in the region and the world,” Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian said on Saturday.
Amir Abdollahian stressed that the Islamic Republic was the first country to assist Iraq in the fight against terrorism.
The Iranian deputy foreign minister also stated that Tehran will continue to fully support Iraq and Syria in the battle against terrorism.
Also, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani on Saturday questioned the goals pursued by the US-led anti-ISIL coalition, and said Washington sought to violate the regional countries' sovereignty.
"The US attempts to create an anti-terrorism coalition in collaboration with certain states which are themselves the main sponsors and suppliers of the terrorists are suspicious and lack transparency," Shamkhani said, addressing a gathering of Iranian clerics in the Central city of Qom.
"The US seeks to continue its unilateralism and violate the countries' sovereignty under the pretext of fighting terrorism," he added.
Shamkhani underlined that Washington was also attempting to distract the world attention from the pivotal role that the US and its allies had played in the establishment, equipment and development of the terrorist groups under the pretext of overthrowing the legal government in Syria.
He said the United States' move to form an anti-ISIL coalition was more like a Hollywood scenario to portray the US as a savior of the region.