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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Iranian Leader Vows to Protect Holy Sites in Iraq | Iranian Leader Vows to Protect Holy Sites in Iraq |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| As Sunni militants continued their incursion in Iraq, President Hassan Rouhani of Iran warned Wednesday that Tehran would defend revered Shiite holy sites in Iraq against the “killers and terrorists” battling Iraq’s government, news agencies reported. | As Sunni militants continued their incursion in Iraq, President Hassan Rouhani of Iran warned Wednesday that Tehran would defend revered Shiite holy sites in Iraq against the “killers and terrorists” battling Iraq’s government, news agencies reported. |
| Speaking on Iranian television, Mr. Rouhani said many Iranian volunteers had agreed to travel to Iraq to “put the terrorists in their place” and protect religious sites, Reuters reported. He said those willing to take up arms against the militants included Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds, Reuters said. | Speaking on Iranian television, Mr. Rouhani said many Iranian volunteers had agreed to travel to Iraq to “put the terrorists in their place” and protect religious sites, Reuters reported. He said those willing to take up arms against the militants included Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds, Reuters said. |
| “Regarding the holy Shiite shrines in Karbala, Najaf, Kadhimiya and Samarra, we announce to the killers and terrorists that the big Iranian nation will not hesitate to protect holy shrines,” he was quoted as saying to a crowd in Lorestan Province in western Iran. “These terrorist groups, and those that fund them, both in the region and in the international arena, are nothing, and hopefully they will be put in their own place.” | |
| He also addressed the issue on his Twitter account. “Iranian nation will protect Iraq’s holy shrines & they aren't alone. Iraq's Sunnis, Shias & Kurds all ready to defeat terrorism solidarity,” he wrote. | He also addressed the issue on his Twitter account. “Iranian nation will protect Iraq’s holy shrines & they aren't alone. Iraq's Sunnis, Shias & Kurds all ready to defeat terrorism solidarity,” he wrote. |
| Mr. Rouhani signaled over the weekend that Iran did not intend to send troops to Iraq. But Gen. Qassim Suleimani, the head of Iran’s paramilitary Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards, recently traveled to Iraq to meet with Iraqi leaders. The high-level contact has prompted speculation that the general is mobilizing Iranian-trained Iraqi Shiites to defend the government. | Mr. Rouhani signaled over the weekend that Iran did not intend to send troops to Iraq. But Gen. Qassim Suleimani, the head of Iran’s paramilitary Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards, recently traveled to Iraq to meet with Iraqi leaders. The high-level contact has prompted speculation that the general is mobilizing Iranian-trained Iraqi Shiites to defend the government. |
| Iraq’s top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has also called on his followers to take up arms against the insurgent army of Sunni extremist militants who have made territorial gains in the north as they seek to sweep toward Baghdad, although he later said he was not calling for a full armed uprising. | Iraq’s top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has also called on his followers to take up arms against the insurgent army of Sunni extremist militants who have made territorial gains in the north as they seek to sweep toward Baghdad, although he later said he was not calling for a full armed uprising. |
| Mr. Rouhani’s words came as both the United States and Iran, which have a shared interest in containing the Sunni militants, have signaled a growing willingness to cooperate to prevent Iraq from falling apart. Underscoring a potential thawing in relations between Iran and the West, Britain announced Tuesday that it would reopen the British Embassy in Tehran. | Mr. Rouhani’s words came as both the United States and Iran, which have a shared interest in containing the Sunni militants, have signaled a growing willingness to cooperate to prevent Iraq from falling apart. Underscoring a potential thawing in relations between Iran and the West, Britain announced Tuesday that it would reopen the British Embassy in Tehran. |
| After the advance by the militants began, Secretary of State John Kerry said in an interview with Yahoo News that the United States was “open to discussions if there’s something constructive that can be contributed by Iran.” | After the advance by the militants began, Secretary of State John Kerry said in an interview with Yahoo News that the United States was “open to discussions if there’s something constructive that can be contributed by Iran.” |