US officials say Iran invited to next round of Syria talks
Top envoys from the U.S., Russia, Arab and European nations are taking part.
On Tuesday, President Obama spoke with Saudi King Salman and “committed to increasing support for the moderate Syrian opposition and cooperating closely to build on the constructive talk” at a diplomatic meeting last week, the White House said. “These are decisions that Iranian leaders have to decide to make”, Kirby said. They include Mostafa Sardarzadeh, the commander of the Fatemiyoun brigade, and Abdollah Bagheri of the highly sensitive Ansar Corps of the IRGC, which is tasked with close quarter protection of Iranian officials.
“We don’t need the help now, they should stop attacking our bases and then we can talk about future cooperation”, Mr Rayyes said in his earlier BBC interview.
The Russian air force is providing air cover for several major ground offensives being waged by the Syrian army and allied Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters. Replacing Assad with a secular Sunni strongman capable of taking the fight to the Islamic State; establishing an agreed upon transitional period leading to Assad’s eventual departure; or reducing Assad’s responsibilities so he takes on a face-saving ceremonial role. “Iran’s deepening involvement in the conflict suggests Tehran will have to weigh the risks of propping up the Assad regime even more carefully”. Washington continues to stress it does not regard Iran as a “key partner”.
In other words, there is significant progress in the negotiations between the U.S., Russia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey on finding a way to end the war in Syria.
However, it’s not easy to see how increasing the number of governments arguing over Syria will necessarily improve prospects for overcoming so many ideological, factional, religious and regional rivalries. Nearly half the population has been forced to relocate internally or flee the country.
Last week, a commander in Iran’s Basij militia was killed in Syria’s Quneitra province, which borders Israel.
The comments were aired days after Assad met Putin in Moscow to discuss a joint military campaign against militants in Syria. It should however be noted that the majority of Russian airstrikes have not been carried out against the self-proclaimed Islamic State, but rather against other rebel groups centered in Syria’s western regions.
The poll also showed that 47% of Russians agree with Putin’s support for Assad while only 28% want Russia to stay out of Syria and a tiny 8% think Moscow should join a British and American coalition against ISIS.