U.N. may enlist Iran in Syria effort

TEHRAN, Iran – United Nations special envoy Kofi Annan was expected to meet with top Iranian officials today in the latest diplomatic offensive aimed at salvaging his faltering six-point peace plan to avert all-out civil war in Syria.

Whether Annan’s visit here – immediately following his talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus – was a pro forma diplomatic gesture or signaled some new role for Iran in resolving the Syrian crisis was not clear.

Iran has been a staunch ally of Assad and has forcefully supported the Syrian president’s assertions that the rebellion is a “terrorist” conspiracy hatched by the West with its Arab allies.

In a statement, Annan said he had come to Iran “to see how we can work together to help settle the situation in Syria.”

The trip suggests Annan is eager to have Tehran on board for any possible peace deal or transitional governing plan for Syria. Annan has said repeatedly that Iran is an important regional power and should be involved in a resolution of the Syria crisis.

But the Iranian leadership has given no public sign of being willing to jettison Assad. Syria is part of what Iran lauds as the “axis of resistance” against the United States and its allies. The Syrian government is reported to have helped facilitate arms transfers to Iran’s strategic ally, Hezbollah, the Lebanese-based militant group.

Rebel groups fighting Assad have voiced considerable hostility against both Iran and Hezbollah as supporters of Assad. And U.S. officials have looked askance at any Iranian involvement in international efforts to resolve the situation in Syria.

At the insistence of the U.S., Iran was left off the guest list of Annan’s multinational “action group” meeting on Syria in Geneva late last month.

Participating nations in the Geneva session approved a communique outlining broad parameters for a “transitional” government that would, in theory, lead to greater democracy in Syria, where the Assad family has ruled for more than four decades.

Washington and its allies insist that Assad must go as part of any United Nations-approved transition governing plan for Syria. But Russia and China, which wield veto power in the U.N. Security Council, have refused to make Assad’s departure a condition of any deal. Tehran has publicly hewed to that position as well.

Russia asserts that it is not tied to Assad’s continued rule but that the decision lies with the “Syrian people.” Moscow this week is hosting meetings with various Syrian opposition representatives, including members of the Syrian National Council, the best-known political opposition umbrella organization.

In Iran, Annan is expected to hold talks today with Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi. It was not known if he would also meet with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The former U.N. chief arrived here Monday after what he termed “a very candid and constructive” discussion with Assad in Damascus.

In a statement, Annan said he and the Syrian president “agreed on an approach” to help end the violence in Syria. It was unclear if he regarded the meeting with Assad as a breakthrough in long-stalled peace efforts.