President Hassan Rouhani has described the Islamic State (IS) group as “extremely savage and barbaric,” but questioned the motives of the US-led bombing campaign in Syria. In an interview with PBS aired on Wednesday, he said, “It is not clear for us what they are seeking.”
“Whether they’re under the pressure of their own domestic public opinions and they want to put on a show, a theater for public consumption, or they’re after a tangible, a real objective in the region; it is not crystal clear for us.”
“But what I can tell you unequivocally, no terrorist group can be eradicated and destroyed through aerial bombardments only,” he said. Rouhani also said some countries in the region fuelled the rise of IS by supporting rebel groups fighting against the Syrian government. “All of them in one fashion or another encouraged and supported these terrorists,” he said.
