France's foreign minister on Wednesday pressed "all countries in the region", as well as Iran to join Western nations in the fight against Islamic State fighters rampaging through Iraq and Syria.

"We would like all the countries of the region to join in this action (that includes the Arab countries and Iran), but we would also like the P5 to join in with this action," Laurent Fabius told a parliamentary committee, referring to the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.