The United States is considering launching air strikes and could do so within days to back up Iraqi and Shiite forces battling to recapture Tikrit from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group, U.S. officials said Tuesday.
Top officials were weighing the move after the bid to retake Tikrit, the hometown of late-strongman Saddam Hussein, lost momentum in recent days.
The U.S.-led coalition has pounded ISIS with bombing raids in northern and western Iraq but has not taken part in the Tikrit operation, in which Iran has played a prominent role.
Possible air strikes near Tikrit are “being discussed at a high level” and could be days or weeks away, a U.S. official told AFP.
The delicate diplomatic and military aspects of such an option are still being worked out, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
In a shift, the coalition as of March 21 began providing intelligence from surveillance flights for the Tikrit assault, a senior coalition military official said earlier in Baghdad.
U.S. officials in Washington confirmed the account of “an eye in the sky” for the Iraqi troops and Iranian-backed Shiite militia.
President Barack Obama’s administration has insisted it does not coordinate military operations directly with Iran.
But the surveillance flights and discussions on possible U.S. air raids in Tikrit illustrate how Washington is moving towards greater indirect collaboration with Tehran, despite the intense distrust between the two arch-foes.
Obama’s deputies have said the military effort against the ISIS is coordinated through the Iraqi government, which works closely with both Iran and the United States.
Iraqi Army Staff Lieutenant General Abdulwahab al-Saadi, a top commander in Salaheddin province, of which Tikrit is the capital, told AFP on March 15 that coalition air support was needed there and that he had requested that the Iraqi defense minister ask for it.
The Pentagon said Tuesday it had not yet received a request from Baghdad for air power around Tikrit.
“If the Iraqis formally request US assistance, we would take a look at that,” Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steven Warren told reporters.
Nothing was being “ruled in or out,” he said.
Warren acknowledged that the Iraqi offensive on Tikrit had “stalled” even though ISIS militants were outnumbered and outgunned.
“The Tikrit operation frankly has not moved forward recently,” he said.
The difficulties of waging war in an urban setting was the main factor hampering the operation, he added.
The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, has said it is only a matter of time before ISIS is forced out of Tikrit, which is north of Baghdad.
The operation to take back Tikrit, which involves thousands of Iraqi soldiers, police and Shiite fighters, began on March 2.
Last Update: Wednesday, 25 March 2015 KSA 07:03 - GMT 04:03
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IRAQ TIKRIT U.S. AIR STRIKES ISIS ISLAMIC STATE
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U.S., Lebanon discuss efforts to defeat ISIS
Monaco reiterated the need for all Lebanese parties to “implement the policy of dissociation” from the Syrian conflict. (File photo)
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Reuters, Washington
Wednesday, 25 March 2015
White House counterterrorism adviser Lisa Monaco met with Lebanese Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk on Tuesday to discuss security concerns in the region and ongoing efforts to defeat ISIS, the White House said in a statement.
Monaco reiterated the need for all Lebanese parties to “implement the policy of dissociation” from the Syrian conflict.
Last Update: Wednesday, 25 March 2015 KSA 07:23 - GMT 04:23
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LEBANON MONACO INTERIOR MINISTER ISIS ISLAMIC STATE
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France tells U.N. ‘insufficient’ progress in Iran nuclear talks
Iran, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China are to resume negotiations in Switzerland this week, aiming for a political framework deal by the end of March and a full nuclear pact by June 30 (File photo: Reuters)
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By Reuters | United Nations
Wednesday, 25 March 2015
France warned on Tuesday that “insufficient” progress has been made toward a nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers with specific disparities over research and development and the issue of sanctions.
“Iran must now make difficult choices if it truly wishes to regain the trust of the international community,” French U.N. Ambassador Francois Delattre told a United Nations Security Council meeting on U.N. sanctions on Iran.
Iran, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China are to resume negotiations in Switzerland this week, aiming for a political framework deal by the end of March and a full nuclear pact by June 30.
The biggest sticking point, Western officials say, remains Iran’s demands for no limits on research and development of advanced centrifuges, which purify uranium for use in nuclear reactors or, if highly enriched, in weapons.
Another issue is sanctions. Iran wants all U.N. sanctions lifted immediately after a deal is agreed, along with the most crippling U.S. and European Union restrictions on Tehran’s energy and financial sectors.
“Iran will need to show greater flexibility and take some tough decisions in the coming days if we are to achieve a deal,” Britain’s Deputy U.N. Ambassador Peter Wilson told the council.
During talks last week, France was insisting on a longer period of restrictions on Iran's nuclear work and also opposed the idea of suspending some U.N. sanctions relatively quickly.
“We are determined to come to a solid agreement ... which enables the establishment and guarantee in the long term of the exclusively peaceful aims of the Iranian nuclear program,” Delattre said.
Iran denies allegations that it harbors nuclear weapons ambitions.
“There are still significant gaps and important choices that need to be made in these negotiations,” U.S. Deputy U.N. Ambassador David Pressman told the council.
“We are working to see if we can get to a political framework by the end of March that addresses the major elements of a comprehensive deal.”
Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said Moscow “will continue to do everything ... to find a final and comprehensive closure of these issues related to the Iranian nuclear program and in removing from Tehran the sanctions introduced by the relevant resolutions of the U.N. Security Council.”
On Saturday, Iran's top leader voiced mistrust of U.S. efforts to reach a nuclear deal.
On Sunday, Israel sent top envoys to confer with French officials about preventing a deal that Israel considers unfavorable.
Last Update: Wednesday, 25 March 2015 KSA 08:21 - GMT 05:21
TOPICS
IRAN IRAN NUCLEAR TALKS UNITED NATIONS U.N.
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