An official in the region, however, told Reuters that Iran had already been invited by the United States and Russian Federation, and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian would attend the talks, while the presence of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was still under discussion. Afterwards, Carter said he expected “more of this kind of thing” and on Tuesday he told senators the coalition would focus on the IS stronghold of Raqa, in Syria.
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Testifying to lawmakers, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said U.S. forces would not shy away from “direct action on the ground” if they see a chance to hit Daesh targets. “They do have a relationship with the Assad regime; they do have a relationship inside Syria”.
“Real causes of the Syrian crisis are rooted in military intervention, dual policies of America and its allies as well as instrumentalization of terrorist groups”, said Afkham calling on the United States to stop its support for the policy of terrorist-nurturing in order to pursue political solutions in Syria.
“But yet this is what the United States does and this is what the United States is doing right now with regards to trying to remove President Assad from Syria”, he added.
“Now, whether they come or not, that’s up to Iranian leaders”, said Kirby.
Hisham Marwa, Vice-President of the Turkey-based Syrian National Coalition, criticized any participation in the talks by Tehran but stopped short of saying it would refuse participation itself if Iran was involved.
US President Barack Obama and Saudi King Salman spoke on the telephone about cooperating closely to fight the Islamic State and “establish the conditions for a political transition in Syria”, according to a White House statement.
They vowed to build on recent diplomatic efforts.
It’s not a given that Iran attends.
It’s also believed to possess been powerful in the determination of the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon to send combatants to Syria to help pro-Assad forces.
But Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan said the Russians have in sight a political transition in Syria where Assad would eventually step down.
Russian Federation and Iran reject that demand.
Beyond Iran, this week’s gathering will expand to include countries such as Britain, France, Germany, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. It’s just that everything has to be tried, as Syria’s agony grows by the day, and with it worldwide tensions and the plight of ever increasing numbers of people fleeing the country.
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Meanwhile, violence continues to rage between rebel groups and the Islamic State, and in the Kurdish region in northern Syria, even drawing in Turkey.
