Iran declines to join U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State

TEHRAN, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Monday that Iran has rejected America's invitation to join an international coalition to counter the Islamic State.

When informed of America's request for Iranian cooperation, "I said we do not work with the Americans as they have evil intentions and stained hands," Khamenei told reporters on Monday after he was discharged from a hospital where he underwent prostate surgery a week earlier.

Khamenei denounced U.S. claims of targeted airstrikes against IS militants -- also known by its Arabic acronym Daesh -- as "lies."

"What has happened in Iraq which broke the backbone of Daesh was not done by Americans but by the Iraqi people and Army. Both Daesh and Americans know this well."

Meanwhile, Iraqi President Fouad Massoum appealed for international assistance in the battle against IS at a gathering in Paris on Monday of more than 30 countries at the International Conference on Peace and Security in Iraq.

More than 40 countries have joined the U.S.-led coalition to target IS militants in Iraq and Syria, including members of the 22-nation Arab League.