Australia Reaches Intel-Sharing Deal With Iran

Aussie FM Cheers Iran's Effort in Fighting ISIS

Australian officials today announced an intelligence-sharing agreement with Iran, with Foreign Minister Julie Bishop capping off a rare visit to Tehran in the announcement.

“We have a common purpose with Iran in defeating ISIS and helping the Iraqi government,” Bishop declared. Earlier in the visit, Bishop cheered Iran for their involvement in the ISIS war.

The move is something of a public split with the US, which has loudly refused to cooperate with Iran in the war, and used Iraqi PM Hayder Abadi’s recent visit to condemn Iran and demand they place their troops directly under Iraqi control.

This has been a recurring problem within the ISIS war since the US insinuated itself into the conflict last summer, with the US and most of its coalition refusing to coordinate with Iran or Syria, two of the primary forces on their own side of the war.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.