Iran’s president blames Islamic State rise on US invasion of Iraq

NEW YORK — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday appeared to shut the door to Iran’s participation in the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State, blaming the U.S occupation of Iraq for the rise of the brutal al-Qaida spinoff and asserting that it will be defeated only if the world supports the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

While he didn’t explicitly rule out Iran joining the U.S.-led coalition, his comments left little doubt that it wouldn’t. At the same time, Rouhani didn’t precluded Iran’s coordination with the U.S.-led campaign, something that occurred when U.S. airstrikes and a ground offensive by Iran-backed Iraqi troops and militias ended the Islamic State’s siege of a town populated by an ethnic minority last month.