Deputy Iranian Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian said that after the self-styled Islamic State (IS) took over Mosul in early June, it sent letters to the embassies of countries in the region warning them not to take action against the group.

“After the fall of Mosul, this terrorist group stressed in a letter to all of the embassies that they are a revolutionary group that was formed to attain the rights of Sunnis and for other countries to not attack them, and they will leave the citizens of those countries alone,” Abdollahian said.

He did not say what else was in the letter. Iran was one of the first countries to assist the Iraqi military and Kurdish forces in Iraq in the fight against IS. The United States is also leading an anti-IS coalition that includes a number of Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, conducting air strikes against IS positions in Iraq and Syria.

US President Barack Obama met with defense officials from 20 different countries to discuss IS on Oct. 14. He said that there are about 60 countries in the coalition, which he described as a “long-term campaign.”