"We have no interest in taking
part in this counter-terrorism conference in Paris which has a selective
guest list and is just for show," deputy foreign minister Hossein
Amir-Abdollahian told state television.
"What
would interest Iran is a real fight against terrorism in the region and
around the world, not this selective one," he said.
Iran
has not been invited to Monday's meeting in Paris, amid US resistance
to involving Tehran in the regional coalition it has been building among
regional states to fight the jihadists in Iraq and neighbouring Syria.
US
Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday that Washington opposed
Tehran's participation because of its "engagement in Syria and
elsewhere".
The United States
is building an international coalition against the Islamic State and
has said it plans air strikes against the jihadists on Syrian territory
without the consent of Damascus.
Syria and its ally Russia
have warned that any unilateral US military action on Syrian territory
would be a violation of its sovereignty.
The
deputy foreign minister is the latest in a string of Iranian officials
to criticise US efforts to wage war against the jihadists.
On
Thursday, foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afhkham cast doubt on
the "sincerity" of the coalition Washington is seeking to build.
Last week, Foreign Minister
Mohammad Javad Zarif accused the United States of not taking the threat
from IS militants in Iraq and Syria seriously.
He
also charged that US aid had previously helped the jihadists, alluding
to support given by Washington to other rebel groups in Syria, some of
which has found its way into IS hands.
Iran
has been Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's main regional ally since
the revolt against his rule erupted in March 2011, and has also provided
military advisers to the Shiite-led government in Iraq to help it
battle the jihadists.
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