The UN Security Council urged the international community on Friday
to expand support for the Iraqi government as it fights the Islamic
State (IS) group and its supporters.
The presidential statement approved by all 15 council
members at a meeting chaired by US Secretary of State John Kerry
expressed "deep outrage" at the killing, kidnapping, rape and torture of
Iraqis and citizens of other countries by the IS group.
Iran's Foreign Minister was present at the meeting, signalling a possible cooperation with the US and the UN.
"The fact is there is a role for nearly every country in
world to play, including Iran, whose Foreign Minister is here with us
today. ISIL poses a threat to all of us and we are committed to working
with close partnership the new Iraqi Government and countries around the
world to defeat it," said Kerry.
The meeting was also attended by Nickolay Mladenov, the head of UN Assistance Mission for Iraq, who called IS a "scourge."
Kerry convened the council to show support for the new Iraqi government in its efforts to combat IS.
Ibrahim al-Jaafari, the Iraqi Minister of Foreign
Affairs, stressed that defeating IS was the responsibility of the Iraqi
government, but he called for "the support of friendly nations in the
air campaign (against IS)."
A few hours before foreign ministers gathered at the UN,
French fighter jets struck militant Islamic State group targets in
Iraq, becoming the first country to publicly add military muscle to US
air strikes.
"Acting for Iraq and against the Islamic State
terrorists is a duty for all of us," said Laurent Fabius, French Foreign
Minister.
Kerry chaired the meeting a day after Congress approved
the Obama administration's plan to help arm and train moderate Syrian
rebels fighting IS militants in the Middle East.