US President Barack Obama has said the problem for Sunni countries in the region is not simply Iran, describing Sunni extremism as the biggest danger facing the region.
"And the good news is, I think, for the, perhaps the first time, you have absolute clarity that the problem for Sunni states in the region, many of whom are our allies, is not simply Iran. It's not simply a Sunni-Shiite issue," Obama said in an interview aired on Sunday with NBC's "Meet the Press" program.
"Sunni extremism, as represented by ISIL, is the biggest danger that they face right now. And with that understanding, it gives us the capacity for them to start getting more active and more involved," he said.
The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), has seized large swathes of land in northern Iraq since it launched a violent offensive in the crisis-hit Arab country in June with the aim of establishing a border-blurring caliphate.
Obama also said he will deliver a speech to Americans and consult with US lawmakers this week to sell his plan to go on an offensive against IS militants.
