Even if there is no U.S. military cooperation with Iran, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday welcomed reported military action from Tehran via air strikes against militant extremists in Iraq.

Pentagon claimed that Iran conducted four air strikes against the Islamic State (IS). However, Iran denied launching any air strikes.

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"Iran has never been involved in any air strikes against the Daesh [Islamic State] targets in Iraq," ABC quoted an unnamed senior Iranian official as saying. "Any cooperation in such strikes with America is also out of question for Iran."

Marzieh Afkham, spokeswoman of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, insisted that there is no change to Tehran's policy to support and advice Iraqi officials in their battle versus the IS. The support it provides Baghdad are well within the scope of international rules, she added.

Kerry claimed that four F-4 Phantom aircrafts, which Iran purchased from the U.S. before the 1979 Islamic revolt, were deployed against the IS in Diyala, a province in eastern Iraq. Al Jazeera also aired a video clip of an F-4 jet, similar to those bought by Iran from the U.S., hitting targets in Diyala.

At a press conference, Kerry said any military action by Iran against the IS would have a positive impact on the war of the Coalition against the IS.

However, despite the air strikes slowing down the movement of the jihadists across Syria and Iraq, Kerry admitted that it would take years to defeat the IS.

In a meeting at Brussels on Wednesday with members of the coalition, Kerry said the 1,000 air strikes against the jihadists made a "significant impact" on Sunni extremists. He assured the members that Washington's commitment to the campaign would be measured by years "for as long as it takes to prevail."

Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad even belittled the Coalition air strikes as having no effect on decimating the IS.

The first air strikes against the IS started in August, initially targeting jihadists in Iraq but eventually including those in Syria. The Middle Eastern nations of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Bahrain are targeting Syria, while the U.S., Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France and The Netherlands are concentrating on wiping out the jihadists in Iraq.

Tagsanti-ISIL coalition, John Kerry, Iraq airstrikes, Iran, ISIS