Iran foreign minister discusses Syria with Hezbollah leader

The remarks were carried by Al-Manar, the television of the powerful Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, which is supported by Iran.

Tehran and the P5+1 – the US, Russia, China, France, Britain, and Germany – finalized the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) over the Iranian nuclear program in the Austrian capital city of Vienna on July 14.

Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Shi’ite group with a powerful militia, has been a crucial ally of President Bashar al-Assad in the four-year-old Syrian conflict.

It was previously said that Erdoğan refused to meet with Zarif, without citing a specific reason, during the visit that was scheduled for Tuesday.

The Iranian minister is slated to meet with a number of high-ranking Indian officials, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj.

“We are ready to cooperate, exchange ideas, and work together with these nations to fight extremism, terrorism, and sectarianism”, Zarif said at a news conference in Beirut.

According to various media reports, Zarif discussed with Salam Lebanon’s ongoing presidential vacuum and both officials agreed there should be increased deliberation regarding this topic.

While the flurry of meetings has yet to yield any concrete results, it has raised hopes in some circles that worldwide players are willing to seek a compromise – propelled, perhaps, by the brutality and intractability of the conflict, which has killed more than a quarter-million people, displaced millions more and allowed the extremists of the Islamic State to take root and thrive.

The Iranian FM arrived in Damascus on Wednesday after meeting Lebanese officials in Beirut.

In Iraq, the United States and Iran are both supporting the government against IS, with Washington providing air support and Tehran providing aid to government-allied militia on the ground. The rebel group Ahrar Al Sham had led the talks on the insurgents’ side.

The rebel alliance, which calls itself the Army of Conquest, regularly fires barrages of rockets into the villages, claiming a mission to avenge the offensive on Zabadani. Pro-government forces have demanded that “food and medical supplies enter Fuaa and Kafraya”, Abdel Rahman said.

The Syrian Observatory reported that at least 12 people were killed in rocket attacks by rebels targeting several neighbourhoods in Damascus, including Abu Romaneh and Bab Touma in the centre. The Observatory said the airstrikes killed at least 31 people and wounded more than 120 people.