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Obama has written to Khamenei for cooperation in fight against IS

Washington: US President Barack Obama has secretly written to Iran’s supreme leader to discuss possible cooperation in the fight against Islamic militants providing there is a nuclear deal, a US daily reported on Thursday.
Earnest repeated that on the sidelines of those talks, being led by a group of powers known as the P5+1, Iran and US had discussed the threat of the militants.

But he reiterated US stand that “the United States will not cooperate militarily with Iran in that effort, we won’t share intelligence with them.”

In his letter, Obama reportedly stressed to Khamenei that any cooperation in fighting IS militants would depend on reaching a comprehensive nuclear deal, as a November 24 deadline looms.

The Journal said it was believed to be the fourth letter from Obama to Khamenei since the American leader took office in 2009. US officials told the paper that the Iranian leader has never responded personally to the overtures.

Many of Washington’s regional allies, including Israel as well as Saudi Arabia, have been wary of US administration bid to engage Iran diplomatically, and the Journal’s sources said the White House did not tell those countries in advance of Obama’s letter.

US Secretary of State John Kerry will on Sunday meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as well as EU foreign policy chief Cathy Ashton in Oman, for a fresh round of nuclear talks.

They will meet in Muscat, which hosted secret Iran-US talks in 2012, widely credited for bringing Tehran back to the nuclear negotiations.

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