In an interview with the Lebanese al-Mayadeen TV on August 5, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Iran plans to submit a new proposal to the United Nations to resolve the crisis in Syria.
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Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif is set to visit Pakistan later this week to hold wide-ranging discussions with the leadership here and review bilateral ties in the wake of the recent nuclear deal between Tehran and the world powers.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said the visit has been postponed until an unspecified date in the future, but did not provide a reason for the delay.
Some Turkish media outlets reported that the visit was delayed because of an article Zarif penned for the Turkish opposition daily newspaper Cumhuriyet.
In addition to his talks on the deal, Zarif is expected to discuss with the Lebanese officials ways to improve bilateral economic cooperation, the sources said.
His comments could be seen as veiled criticism of Turkey, which has been accused of failing to do enough to halt the rise of Islamic State and even secretly colluding with the group.
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But it changed its position after a deadly bombing blamed on IS on July 20 in Suruc, a Turkish town opposite the Syrian flashpoint of Kobane, that left 32 people dead. Last month, Turkey agreed to open up a southern base to U.S. and coalition forces for air strikes against Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria and northern Iraq.
