Iran Wants Concessions On Its Nuclear Program If It Is To Aid The West In It's War Against The Islamic State

A fighter of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) holds an ISIL flag and a weapon on a street in the city of Mosul, June 23, 2014. Credit: Reuters/Stringer

Exclusive: Iran Seeks Give And Take On Islamic State Militants, Nuclear Program -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Iran is ready to work with the United States and its allies to stop Islamic State militants, but would like more flexibility on Iran's uranium enrichment program in exchange, senior Iranian officials told Reuters.

The comments from the officials, who asked not to be named, highlight how difficult it may be for the Western powers to keep the nuclear negotiations separate from other regional conflicts. Iran wields influence in the Syrian civil war and on the Iraqi government, which is fighting the advance of Islamic State fighters.

Iran has sent mixed signals about its willingness to cooperate on defeating Islamic State (IS), a hard-line Sunni Islamist group that has seized large swaths of territory across Syria and Iraq and is blamed for a wave of sectarian violence, beheadings and massacres of civilians.

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My Comment: Iran .... through its support of the previous Iraqi government and it's hardline stance towards the Sunni population .... was instrumental in helping in the rise of the Islamic State. And now they want concessions .... even as the Islamic State has made it very clear that they see Iran as an enemy that needs to be confronted on the battlefield. The chutzpah from the Iranian negotiation team is too much even for me.