Iran’s participation Pivotal

Iran’s participation in Geneva Conference contributes to its success. The Islamic Republic of Iran has been a key player and a pivotal state on the regional and international arenas over the past three decades. So, it is illogical to exclude it from Geneva 2 Conference, because the US, Saudi Arabia and the armed groups do not want it to take part in the event. There is an absolutely apparent need for the participation of Iran in the conference, and foreign powers should not set preconditions for its participation.

The upcoming Geneva II conference on the Syria crisis will yield better results with the Islamic Republic of Iran’s participation, and its presence in it can pave the way for resolving the crisis in Syria. The United States and the foreign-backed opposition are against Iran’s participation in the negotiations, because they want to weaken its regional role, especially following the success of the Iranian diplomacy to strike a deal with the West on the Iranian nuclear file that preserves its right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. The United States and its Western allies should support Tehran’s attendance in the event if they truly want the peace talks to be fruitful and if they truly want to find a peaceful solution to the crisis in Syria. Iran’s participation will be fruitful because it is able to affect a settlement to the crisis in Syria as a prominent regional country.

If Iran attended or if it did not, Iran’s position will not be affected as its regional position and international role have never been related to its presence or absence from Geneva 2. UN Secretary-General spokesperson, Martin Nesirky, announced that the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon sees that Iran’s participation in Geneva 2 conference on Syria is useful. The Holy See also called for the participation of all regional sides in the upcoming conference highlighting the importance of Iran’s participation in particular.

Tehran is ready to take part in the Geneva II talks if invited and without any preconditions. Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif stressed the importance of Iran’s participation in Geneva 2 conference with no preconditions. Zarif affirmed that his country will continue exerting efforts to achieve stability in the region whether it’s invited to the international conference on Syria or not.

Imposing any sort of preconditions for paving the ground for dialogue among the political parties in Syria will not help reaching a political solution to the crisis. Tehran rejects any preconditions on its participation in Geneva 2. Iran should be invited to the upcoming Syria talks without preconditions, because preconditions for Tehran’s involvement in the event are illogical and unconstructive.

Counterterrorism is expected to top the list of the conference’s agenda after a common realization of the danger of terrorists’ influx to Syria, having constituted a world terrorism network that threatens the security of the region and the whole world. For this reason, before inviting states such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, the US and the international community should ask these states to halt its political, media and military support for the armed terrorist groups which are committing atrocious massacres against Syrian people and their public and private properties.

K.Q.