A primetime presidential address aimed at uniting the American people in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) appears to have had the opposite effect in the Middle East. 

Countries and factions that on paper share the same goal of eradicating the extremist threat responded far differently to President Barack Obama's strategy, highlighting the difficulty in creating a united front. Frontline states Iran and Syria lambasted the administration for leaving them out of the equation, while pro-Western rebels urged the United States to ramp up its fight against President Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria and Kurdish groups demanded a far greater US and Western commitment.

"The US claims it's fighting terrorism while cooperating with those backing the terrorist groups," a senior Iranian official told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. "It's not only that; they want to arm other terrorist groups in Syria under the pretext they are moderate Islamists. Everyone knows who they are and what agenda they are serving."

The official added that there will be no serious results on the ground without coordination between regional powers.