20/01/2014 10:42
UN invites Iran to Syria peace talks
UN chief Ban Ki-moon has invited Iran to take part in preliminary Syrian peace talks this week in Switzerland, an offer Tehran has accepted, the BBC reported.
Mr Ban said he had received assurances that Iran would play a positive role in securing a transitional government.
But Syria's main opposition group said it would withdraw from the talks unless Mr Ban retracted the offer to Iran.
And the US said the offer must be conditional on Iran's support for the 2012 deal on Syria's transition.
The preliminary talks will open in Montreux on Wednesday and then continue in Geneva two days later.
Syria's government earlier agreed to attend the meeting.
The three-year conflict in Syria has claimed the lives of more than 100,000 people.
An estimated two million people have fled the country and some 6.5 million have been internally displaced.
On Sunday, UN Secretary General Ban said that Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had pledged that Tehran would play "a positive and constructive" role in Montreux.
"As I have said repeatedly, I believe strongly that Iran needs to be part of the solution to the Syrian crisis," he added.
And Mr Ban stressed: "Let me be clear - Montreux is not a venue for negotiations. The Syrian parties themselves will begin that process in Geneva on 24 January."
Shortly afterwards, Iran said it accepted the invitation. Tehran had earlier insisted it wanted to take part but without preconditions.