Iran opposes US participation in Syria peace talks

(Baonghean.vn)- On January 18, Iranian officials said that the country strongly opposes the US attending the Syria peace talks, scheduled to take place in the capital Astana (Kazakhstan) next week. This view of Iran is contrary to the stance of the two remaining co-organizers, Russia and Türkiye, who believe that the new US administration under Donald Trump should be present in Astana to attend the peace talks.

Iran's Tasnim news agency quoted Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as saying that Tehran's government opposes the US presence at the Syria peace talks.

Sharing the same view, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council today also confirmed that Tehran has refused to invite Washington to the upcoming round of Syria peace talks. According to this official, there is no reason for the US to participate in a political initiative in the Syrian crisis and its role in the Astana talks is unacceptable. Meanwhile, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry said that any expansion of the participants in the peace talks is likely to increase the risk of failure.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Photo: AP

Next week’s talks are expected to include representatives of the Syrian government and opposition. It will be the first time since the conflict began that the United States has not played a central role in peace talks. The three co-chairs, Iran, Russia and Türkiye, are still discussing who will take part in the talks, and have said other countries could join in later stages if the “first steps” are successful.

The Astana talks come as President Bashar al-Assad's government is making major gains on the ground, notably retaking the strategic city of Aleppo last month.

For the first time, the US is not playing a central role in the Syrian peace talks. Photo: AP

Meanwhile, the situation on the ground is witnessing new developments, as the US-led international coalition has expanded its attack range against the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) near the Syrian town of An-bab. This is considered an important step forward for Turkish soldiers on the anti-IS front. According to the coalition representative, with the support of Turkish forces, the coalition conducted 4 airstrikes near Al-Bab, northern Syria and destroyed many important IS targets, including the group's strategic units and vehicles./

Lan Ha

(According to AFP)