U.S. and Iraqi officials tell The Daily Beast that, for now, there is no direct channel to coordinate military activities inside Iraq. Instead messages are occasionally passed by senior Iraqi officials who have for years served as interlocutors between Iran and the United States.

“Our channels are no different than they were a year ago,” said one senior U.S. official. “There is a lot of activity, but we have not opened a new channel.”

Last week, some foreign policy analysts in Washington publicly argued that the ISIS threat ought to spur a grand alliance with Iran, Syria, Russia and the United States fighting on the same side against the terrorist group that has morphed into an army and (at least according to their own propaganda) a Caliphate.

But so far, that has yet to happen. On Monday, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said any U.S. activity inside Syria against ISIS would be seen as an “act of aggression.” Despite that warning, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Pentagon is preparing to send surveillance planes into Syrian airspace.