New intl. envoy for Syria to visit Tehran

PanARMENIAN.Net - New UN-Arab League envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi will visit Iran, a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, after a fact-finding trip to Syria itself, an official in the Iranian foreign ministry was quoted as saying on Sunday, Sept 9, according to Reuters.

Brahimi, a veteran Algerian diplomat, succeeded Kofi Annan as envoy this month and has said he would talk to Iran as he tries to push forward with his difficult quest to end the 17-month-old conflict in Syria.

He is expected to visit Syria soon though no date has yet been announced. His representatives could not be reached on Sunday to confirm or deny the Iranian report.

Iran's Mehr news agency quoted Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi as saying Brahimi would visit Tehran, following a phone conversation Brahimi had conducted on Saturday evening with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi.

"It is planned for Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN's envoy to Syria, to travel to Tehran," Araqchi said.

Iran has remained loyal to Assad as he has tried to put down an uprising against his family's 42-year rule. Tehran accuses regional states like Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey of assisting Syrian rebels fighting to topple Assad militarily.

Iranian officials have said they will not support any foreign intervention in Syria, while Western states have called on Assad to step down.

Brahimi's predecessor Kofi Annan resigned in August after blaming "finger-pointing and name-calling" at the UN Security Council for hampering his efforts to broker a solution to the Syrian crisis.

He too had said Iran should be involved in efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Syria crisis despite the West's firm rejection of any such role.

But Annan said Iran, along with Russia and China, "must take concerted efforts to persuade Syria's leadership to change course and embrace a political transition."