Iran Rejects ‘Sideline’ Role in Syria Peace Talks

Iranian officials insist that they want an actual invite to the Geneva II peace talks on Syria, and that if they’re not invited its unreasonable of the US to expect them to contribute “from the sidelines.”

The US and France have rejected the idea of allowing Iran to attend the talks, saying they would only let them attend if they agreed to impose regime change on Syria before the talks begin.

The UN confirmed again today that Iran is “not yet invited” to the talks, though Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is said to be in favor of inviting them, and Russia has pushed hard for their inclusion.

The Geneva II talks are scheduled for January 22, and while the West has kept the “Geneva” name attached, they won’t actually be held there, because a luxury watch fair was planned first and got all the good hotels. Rather, the talks will be held in Montreaux, Switzerland.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.