Iran rejects as 'absurd' US claim for coalition against IS

TEHRAN -- The recent remarks by US officials regarding the formation of a so-called international coalition to battle Islamic State (IS) militants are "absurd, hollow and biased," Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was quoted as saying by Press TV on Monday.

The United States seeks to expand its military presence in the Middle East region by declaring a war on the IS terrorists, Khamenei said on Monday after he was discharged from hospital following a prostate surgery.

He hailed what he called the efforts by the Iraqi nation and army in battling the IS terrorists, noting that "this was Iraqi army and nation, and not the Americans, who crushed the IS in Iraq. "

On Friday, US President Barack Obama said that Washington seeks to form an international coalition with the goal to "snuff out" the IS terrorist group.

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