UN revokes Iran invite to Syria peace talks

UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon withdrew an offer for Iran to attend Syria peace negotiations yesterday after Tehran declared it does not support the Jun 2012 political transition deal that is the basis for the talks.

“He [Ban] continues to urge Iran to join the global consensus behind the Geneva communiqué,” Ban’s spokesman Martin Nesirky said. “Given that it has chosen to remain outside that basic understanding, [Ban] has decided that the one-day Montreux gathering will proceed without Iran’s participation.”

Ban said earlier that Iran’s public statement that it did not support the 2012 Geneva deal calling for a transitional government for Syria was “not consistent” with assurances he had been given by Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif.