Iran to join talks on Syria crisis alongside Assad ally Russia
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Version 0 of 1. CAIRO — Iran’s top diplomat will join talks this week with the United States and other nations seeking ways to end Syria’s more than four-year conflict, a statement said Wednesday, bringing another key Syrian ally into the discussions. Iran’s presence — along with Russia — expands the voices backing embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and seeking to keep military and strategic footholds in Syria regardless of the possible political scenarios. The announcement on Iranian state TV came after the United States indicated that a seat would be open for Tehran at the gathering planned for Friday in Vienna, which will include both foes and supporters of Assad. But at least one Syrian opposition leader said Iranian participation would undermine the talks, according to the Reuters news agency. [Kerry announces multinational push to bring Syrian war to an end] Iranian state TV quoted the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Marzieh Afkham, as saying that Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and senior deputies would take part. The decision came after Zarif discussed the Syrian crisis with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, twice since late Tuesday, the report said. The Vienna meetings would mark the first major diplomatic contact between Iran and the United States since reaching a nuclear accord in July. It is also nod from Western powers at Iran’s considerable sway over the Syrian government. The United States had previously opposed inviting Iran to peace talks, citing the Iranian government’s support for a regime that has carried out indiscriminate attacks on civilians. “We believe the solution for Syria is a political solution. Americans and foreign players in Syria have no choice but accept the realities in Syria,” Iran deputy foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, said on state TV without giving further details. “Assad . . . has the necessary readiness for talks with insurgents who are committed to a political path.” [Door opens for Iran] Iran’s leaders have invested heavily in cash and weapons to prop up Assad, and hundreds of Iranian military advisers have been sent to assist the Syrian army. The talks bring together some of Assad’s most important international partners and his most ardent opponents amid shifting strategies in Syria, which faces an anti-government insurgency and the rise of the Islamic State across wide stretches of territory. Assad received a significant boost last month after Russia began airstrikes and other attacks that have mainly targeted rebel factions seeking Assad’s ouster, including groups backed by Washington and its allies. Iran also has signaled it could step up military support for Assad through advisers and proxy militias in Iraq and Syria. A number of Iranian commanders have been killed in Syria in recent weeks, according to Iranian news reports. [Pentagon moves closer to sending troops into Islamic State fight] Inside Iran, the role in the talks appears to show some degree of flexibility from the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who previously declared that Tehran would not have further negotiations with Washington on regional issues. The United States and main regional allies, including Turkey and Saudi Arabia, have demanded that Assad must step down eventually as part of any transition to ease the Syrian crisis. But analysts say that Russia, despite limited success on the battlefield, has growing clout in the region. At the same time, the United States seeks to change its policies on ground battles against the Islamic State — planning to increase direct assistance to Syrian Kurdish fighters after a U.S. training program for other rebel factions produced few gains. A U.S.-led air coalition has waged airstrikes on Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria for more than a year. But Russia and Iran are certain to oppose any major changes that would undercut their influence among Syria’s leadership. “I think the Russians have realized that military intervention won’t be effective as a diplomatic solution,” said Najib Malaeb, a retired brigadier general in the Lebanese army and editor-in-chief of Security and Defense Arabia, a Web site focused on regional security affairs. “But I also think [the talks] will result in a transitional coalition government formed with Assad at the helm,” he said. “This is what both Russia and Iran will push for.” On Tuesday, State Department spokesman John Kirby did not disclose which country would extend the offer for Iran to join the talks, which will include Secretary of State John F. Kerry and envoys from more than a dozen nations. Iran’s invitation is widely expected to come from Russia, which would provide further diplomatic cover following Khamenei’s rejection of further one-on-one dealings with Washington. “The goal is to come up with a framework, an agreed-on multinational framework, for a successful political transition in Syria which leads to a government not led by Bashar al-Assad, that is representative and answerable to the people of Syria,” Kirby said Tuesday. Murphy reported from Washington. Heba Habib in Cairo contributed to this report. Read more: Iran backs Assad in battle for Aleppo with proxies, ground troops Did U.S. weapons supplied to Syrian rebels draw Russia into the conflict? Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world |