Iran to join Europe, US in Syria talks

By Vince Chadwick

Invitation to discuss Syrian crisis goes against standard US policy.

Iran will attend talks in Vienna this week on finding a political solution to the Syrian conflict, reversing a long-standing U.S. policy.
Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister, will join the U.S., Britain, Russia, France, Germany, Jordan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates at discussions in Vienna, beginning Thursday.

The shift comes after years of U.S. resistance to Iran’s involvement in discussions on Syria, due to the former’s military support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff told the Senate Armed Services Committee this week that Iran’s support for Assad, along with Russian bombing, had given the Syrian leader the upper hand on the battlefield.
In early 2014, U.N. secretary-general Ban Ki-moon rescinded an offer for Iran to take part in talks to try and end the conflict, amid protests from the U.S., U.K. and the Syrian opposition.
U.S state department spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. still opposed Iran’s “destabilizing activities” in Syria, but “recognized that at some point in the discussion, moving toward a political transition, we have to have a conversation and a dialogue with Iran.”
“The ultimate goal that everyone wants to get to … is to come up with a framework for a successful political transition in Syria which leads to a government not led by Bashar al-Assad and that is representative of and responsive to the Syrian people,” Kirby said.