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 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 the 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 forces. This is the first time since the conflict broke out in Syria that the US has not played a central role in the peace talks. The three co-chairs, Iran, Russia and Türkiye, are still discussing the composition of the talks, and have said that other countries could join in later stages of the process if the “first steps” are successful.

The peace talks in Astana 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 Al-Bab. This is considered an important step forward to help Turkish soldiers on the front against IS. 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 targets of IS, including the group's strategic units and vehicles./

Lan Ha

(According to AFP)