Lakhdar Brahimi to visit Iran on March 16: Deputy FM

UN-Arab League Special Representative for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi is scheduled to visit Iran to discuss the Syria crisis with senior Iranian officials in Tehran.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Friday that Brahimi will arrive in the Iranian capital on Sunday afternoon.

The UN-Arab League envoy is scheduled to meet with Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, and other senior Iranian officials.

Despite insistence by the UN, Russia and other international players that Iran must be involved in resolving the crisis in Syria, the Islamic Republic did not participate in the previous international talks on Syria in the Swiss city of Geneva due to opposition from the United States.

The second round of talks between delegations representing the Syrian government and the foreign-backed opposition in Geneva deadlocked in mid-February with both sides sticking to their positions.

The Syrian delegation said fighting terrorism should be the top priority, but the opposition insisted that formation of a transitional government and resignation of President Bashar al-Assad must come first.

Since the turmoil broke out in Syria in 2011, some 130,000 people have reportedly been killed and millions of others displaced due to the crisis.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for the immediate resumption of Geneva talks with a special focus on finding a political solution to the crisis in the country.