Iran, US can end Iraq crisis, says Rouhani adviser

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's deputy chief of staff for political affairs, Hamid Aboutalebi, tweeted that Iran and the United States are the only two countries that can bring the crisis in Iraq to a peaceful end, and said that cooperation has not been ruled out.

Aboutalebi has become a vocal member of Rouhani’s foreign policy team since his potential nomination to become Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations in New York caused a backlash from US lawmakers due to his role in the 1979 US hostage crisis. In addition to his recognition of possible US-Iran cooperation, in a series of tweets, he approvingly quoted US President Barack Obama’s statements that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki needs to make “tough choices,” and also said that “political solutions” are worth considering.

“The events in Iraq has highlighted a number of hypothesis,” Aboutalebi tweeted on June 15. His tweets were immediately picked up by Iranian websites.

“First, Iran and America are the only two countries, from a perspective of regional power, that can peacefully end Iraq’s crisis”;