“It was unclear whether the suggestion, carried via state-run news media, was serious or more akin to diplomatic posturing, since Iran would have much to lose if it were to leave talks it has long sought to attend”, the New York Times ventured.
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The 17-nation talks held in Vienna on Friday were meant to begin an global dialogue about bringing an end to the Syrian civil war.
Little was decided at that meeting except that Syria’s territorial integrity must remain intact and that participants would reconvene within a few weeks.
Earlier on Nov 3 semi-official Fars news agency reported that two commanders of the Fatemiyun Brigade, Ezatollah Soleimani and Seyyed Ali Hosseini-Alemi, known as “Abusajjad”, as well as Seyyed Sajjad Hosseini, who was an artillery specialist, were killed during a military operation dubbed Muharram, conducted against armed opposition groups in Syria. The Saudis are especially insistent that Mr. Assad should have no role in Syria’s future. Iran backs Assad in the war while Saudi Arabia supports rebels seeking to oust him.
In the recent meeting in Vienna, “some countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, played negative and unconstructive roles, as they could not provide a logic for their positions vis-a-vis Syria’s conflicts”, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian was quoted on Monday by Iran’s Al-alam satellite TV as saying.
“If Saudi Arabia’s vision on the big regional questions confronts reality and it stops its intrusions, we can solve many problems, especially in our relations”, Rouhani told a gathering of Iranian ambassadors in Tehran.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, too, criticized Riyadh for what he called the kingdom’s “intrusion” in the Middle East.
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Iran, which alongside Russian Federation is Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s main worldwide ally, has denied it has combat troops in Syria, claiming it has only sent officers and generals within an advisory capacity to assist both the Syrian army and Hezbollah militias.
