U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Photo: State Department via Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that the U.S. will share limited information with Iraq over the crisis in Iraq, but the two foes will not work closely together.

“We are interested in communicating with Iran. That the Iranians know what we’re thinking, that we know what they’re thinking and there is a sharing of information so people aren’t making mistakes,” Kerry said in an interview with NBC’s The Today Show on Thursday morning.

However, when asked about stronger cooperation with Iran, who has deep ties with Iraq’s Shi’a population, Kerry said: “No. We’re not sitting around contemplating how we’re going to do that or if we’re going to do that. That’s not on the table.”

Israeli officials, along with numerous American leaders, have expressed caution over cooperating with Iran over Iraq, fearing that Iran could use it as leverage in nuclear talks.

“Any discussion about Iraq with Iran will be entirely separate [from negotiations],” State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a press statement on Wednesday. “And any effort to link the two – or any other regional issue – is a nonstarter.”