But Iran clearly has a stake in Syria’s future, as Assad’s government has helped the Iranians exert dominance over nearby Lebanon and threaten Israel through their proxy, Hezbollah. “I am still staggered that we have watched this crisis (Syrian crisis) dissent in the way that it has over the years…and that we take it nearly as a given that there are thousands of people that are facing siege inside Syria….that means…that people are going hungry, children malnourish”.
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The US State Department said Tuesday for the first time that Washington was open to Iranian participation in diplomatic meetings Friday in Vienna to discuss the conflict.
“We keep working to ensure that all our partners – the USA and the countries of the region – agree on a common understanding of who represents a terrorist organization”, Lavrov said.
The Iranian role also appears to show a few degree of flexibility from Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who previously declared that Tehran would not have further negotiations with Washington on regional issues.
In January 2014 the opposition body refused to attend political talks in Switzerland unless the United Nations retracted its invitation to Iran.
Many of those taking to social media defend Iran’s military action in Syria as necessary to stop the Islamic State jihadist group.
Iran’s government has proposed a peaceful transition in Syria that would culminate in free, multi-party elections, but it has not been involved in multilateral peace talks. It did not elaborate.
USA officials have confirmed that Iran is invited to participate in the next round of Syria transition talks, scheduled to begin in Vienna on Thursday. “We do expect in this case that Iran will be invited to participate”.
Iran has been invited to join the next round of talks on the Syrian conflict in Vienna, Austria, unnamed USA officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
US-led efforts to “degrade and destroy” the ISIL group have been stymied by the chaos in Syria, where Alawite president Assad is battling a broader rebellion.
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Russian Federation intervened militarily in Syria’s civil war at the end of last month in support of Assad, and the Syrian army is also supported by Iranian fighters.
