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U.S.-Led Coalition Seeks to Exclude Iran from Fight Against Islamic State
(Washington Post) Anne Gearan - The question of Iran's participation has become a distraction for the Obama administration as it seeks to build a diverse international support base for a military and diplomatic campaign against Islamic State militants. Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday that Iran should not attend a conference about the militant threat on Monday in Paris. "It would not be appropriate given the many other issues...with respect to their engagement in Syria and elsewhere," Kerry said. The U.S. is trying to exclude Iran for a simple reason: If Shiite Iran were present, Sunni Saudi Arabia would bolt, as would other Sunni states that provide crucial backing for U.S. military intervention in the Middle East.