Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has arrived in London to take part in an international conference aimed at raising aid for the people of war-torn Syria.
Syria’s ambassador to the United Nations Bashar al-Jaafari Bashar al-Jaafari on Tuesday ruled out any role for terrorist groups and non-Syrian sides like the Saudi regime in the ongoing Geneva negotiations with opposition groups.
The Syrian military forces made further advances in their fightback against terrorist groups in northern Syria with an operation to break a long-running siege by Takfiri militants on the villages of al-Zahraa and Nubl, northwest of Aleppo.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called on UNESCO, the United Nations’ cultural organization, to make utmost efforts to protect the endangered cultural works and historic sites in Syria and Iraq from the devastating activities of terrorist groups.
Senior diplomats from Iran and Russia have discussed regional developments, particularly the crisis in Syria ahead of talks on the Arab country’s future scheduled for January 29 in Geneva.
The Syrian army has reportedly managed to take full control of a strategic town in the southern province of Dara’a as they continue to gain ground in battles against foreign-sponsored Takfiri militants.
An Iranian deputy foreign minister took a swipe at Saudi Arabia for its attempts to make room for the notorious groups in Syria peace talks, stressing that the criminal terrorists will not be allowed to enter Syria’s political structure in disguise.
Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari warned against a plot hatched by the Zionist regime of Israel and its main ally, the US, to break up Iraq and Syria and made assurances that Iran will thwart the scheme.
Iranian deputy FM said the crisis in Syria will only be resolved through respecting the country’s sovereignty, independence, national unity and territorial integrity as well as the Syrian people’s will.
For now, we should not pass an angry judgment about Russia's failure to respond, the editor-in-chief of Rai al-Youm, Abdel Bari Atwan, said in an opinion piece.
A former IRGC commander has said that Moscow’s military intervention in Syria seems justifiable as far as the Russian national interests are concerned, adding that it will eventually help shift the balance in the region.
A former Iranian Foreign Ministry official has said that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action has been a real help to Iran’s greater involvement in international efforts to solve regional questions.
An advisor to the foreign minister has said that representatives of the Syrian government and the opposition should be part of interactive talks aimed at solving the Syrian crisis.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif authoritatively took on Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister during recent negotiations on the Syrian crisis in the Austrian capital of Vienna, says a senior Iranian official.
A senior Iranian Foreign Ministry official talks about the Vienna conference on Syria and different roles regional and international players played in the meeting.
At one point, Dr. Zarif responded to those remarks nonchalantly, and, at another, he openly rejected each of Al-Jubeir's comments, Deputy Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian said.
Rouhani has called for better ties with Saudi Arabia, but Saudi Arabia has rebuffed all of Iran's attempts at engagement, Mousavian said in an opinion piece.
Many observers view the exclusion of Iran from earlier talks on Syria – under pressure from Riyadh and with a US green-light – as illogical, Atwan said.
A senior Iranian official has strongly rejected reports that the Islamic Republic has agreed to a plan for the removal from power of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in six months.
