Syria foreign minister in Tehran for talks with Iran, Russia

Moualem on July 24 reiterated his government’s view that Iran’s support for Damascus would continue after the deal.

“Fortunately we see a change in the strategy of regional players in the Syrian crisis”.

Michael Bogdanov, had already held a meeting with Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hussein Amir-Abdollahian on Tuesday focusing on the latest status of Syrian and regional developments.

Elaborating on the measures at hand to resolve the ongoing deadly crisis in Syria, Bogdanov said, “We are making a political action to come to holding meetings with officials from the US, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey to help the Syrians”. “If four years ago they believed war is the only solution, now they prefer to focus on diplomacy”, he was quoted as saying by Fars News Agency.

He dismissed western officials’ remarks that the sanctions can be re-imposed against Iran in a short period of time, and said such a process needs several years while Tehran’s return to its past nuclear activities can be done in a shorter time if the world powers don’t remain committed to their undertakings.

The suggestion of friendly ties between the Kerry and Zarif families raised questions about the U.S. secretary of state’s ability to conduct the sensitive negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program dispassionately and unperturbed by social ties, particularly because Zarif was also Iran’s chief negotiator at the talks.

IRNA quoted him as naming “the legal governments in Iraq or Syria or the Islamic resistance in Lebanon”, a reference to the Shiite Hezbollah group.

Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Bogdanov and Abdollahian, during a meeting in Tehran on Tuesday, “supported the formation of a wide anti-terrorist front”.