On December 6, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared “complete victory” over the Islamic State (IS) in Syria and hailed the “total rout of the terrorists”. Parallelly, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced on December 9 that “we have won with our unity and determination” and that IS had been decimated in his country. But even more consequential than these two figures was the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who proudly proclaimed on November 21 that IS had been vanquished in both Syria and Iraq. Terming IS an “evil”, which had been “lifted from the head of the people”, he thanked “thousands of martyrs” mobilised by Iran to fight in Syria and Iraq to “destroy the foundation and roots” of the terrorist movement. The congratulation and self-vindication in Iran at the fall of IS’ Caliphate were second to none and deservingly so. No other external power sacrificed so much blood and treasure as Iran to ensure that IS bit the dust in its bastions. The Western military coalition led by the United States attempted to downgrade, render invisible or hinder Iran’s contributions in the anti-IS war effort. Russia did work in tandem with Iran but sought to steal Tehran’s thunder and project itself as the main saviour from the IS demon.