Iran appears to be something of a wildcard in the boiling pot of chaos that Iraq has become. It could potentially provide military forces to counter balance those of ISIS. This question involves very complex issues in its negotiations with the US government. Iran's supreme Islamic ruler has issued a statement that sounds less than friendly.
Iran opposes US intervention in Iraq, says Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Iran's top leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Sunday he is against US intervention in neighboring Iraq, where Islamic extremists and Sunni militants opposed to Tehran have seized a number of towns and cities, the official IRNA news agency reported.
"We strongly oppose the intervention of the US and others in the domestic affairs of Iraq," Khamenei was quoted as saying, in his first reaction to the crisis.
"The main dispute in Iraq is between those who want Iraq to join the US camp and those who seek an independent Iraq," said Khamenei, who has the final say over government policies. "The US aims to bring its own blind followers to power since the US is not happy about the current government in Iraq. "
Khamenei said Iraq's government and its people, with help of top clerics, would be able to end the "sedition" there, saying extremists are hostile to both Shia and Sunni muslims who seek an independent Iraq.
This appears to be an endorsement of the present Maliki government and a statement of opposition to Obama's efforts in urging some form of major governmental makeover. Kerry was making his usual shoot from the hip statements about the possibility of some form of cooperation between the US and Iran in seeking a solution for the problems of Iraq. That doesn't sound it's going anywhere.
Obama is in an unenviable position. He is trying to show engagement with the very messy problem without making commitments that could get the US embroiled in another significant military engagement there. He seems to have pinned his hopes on some sort of quick fix political realignment that would establish cooperation between the Sunni and Shia factions. It is very difficult to see how that could come about at this point. It doesn't look like it is going to get much support from Iran.
If Iran were to decide intervene militarily in Iraq, what could the US do about it? It seems plausible that one of the calculations in Bush's occupation of Iraq was as a means of keeping Iran under control. There's not a lot that Obama's 300 military advisers could do along those lines.