Reuters, Baghdad :A senior Iranian official has confirmed his country carried out air strikes in neighboring Iraq against Islamic State fighters at the request of Iraqi authorities, Britain’s Guardian newspaper reported.It quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Ebrahim Rahimpour as saying the strikes were not coordinated with the United States, which is also waging an air campaign against the radical Sunni Muslim militants who control large parts of north and west Iraq.The purpose of the strikes was “the defense of the interests of our friends in Iraq”, the newspaper quoted Rahimpour as saying in an interview in London.”We did not have any coordination with the Americans. We have coordinated only with the Iraqi government,” he said. “In general, every military operation to help the Iraqi government is according to their requests.”Rahimpour’s reported comments were the first from an Iranian official confirming Iran’s role in the air strikes in the Iraqi province of Diyala, which borders Iran, in late November. On Wednesday an Iranian official had denied that Iran had launched any such strikes.
