Along the Islamic border in Iran, a militia called Basij, which is loyal to Iran’s religious leaders, wants to fight ISIS if they cross the Iranian border. They will go through any lengths necessary to protect their people. “We are all prepared to go and destroy ISIS totally,” said a Basij commander. “If our Imam, our Supreme Leader orders us, we will destroy ISIS.”

As of now, the Basij have not been caught up in any fights with ISIS, as they are currently waging war in parts of Iraq and Syria.

Iran’s Elite Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Force, led by General Qassem Suleimani, has been training, supporting, and advising militias in the fight against ISIS. Suleimani was accused of being a key figure in the Shia insurgency against U.S. forces, becoming a celebrity figure in the process.

Iranian officials say that they would prefer better relations with the U.S., but point out that the trust between the two countries isn’t there.

“At the moment, we consider the United States to be a threat to us because its policies and actions are threatening to us,” said General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan, commander of the ground forces in Iran.

“We would like the U.S. to change its rhetoric and tone of voice so that our nation could have more trust in U.S. military leadership.”

The U.S. is leading the air campaign in Iraq against ISIS, and they have denied any connection with Iran. Iranians also believe air strikes against Iran are useless, and they believe the U.S. and its allies are ineffective when it comes to the fight against ISIS.

“The aerial bombardment campaign is mostly…a form of theater, rather than a serious battle against terrorism,” said Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani.

“The battle in Iraq is very important to Iran,” said Professor Mohammad Marandi. “The Iranians believe that the Americans, if they wanted to, could do a lot more to put pressure on their allies. And also, if they were serious about air strikes, they could do a lot more.”

“If they want to destroy ISIS, it is possible for them to achieve that,” Iran’s chief of staff, Major General Hassan Firouzabadi. “The U.S. military and intelligence organizations have many ways to strike at ISIS, but we have not seen anything so far except intelligence gathering from the U.S. and Britain. We hope that one day, because of their national interests and the will of their nations, the U.S. and the UK will decide to really fight ISIS.”