Iran to attend international talks on Syria's future

Iran has said it will attend the upcoming international talks over Syria’s future in Vienna.

Iranian state TV quoted a foreign ministry spokeswoman as saying Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will attend the talks.

It said Mr Zarif discussed the Syrian crisis with his Russian counterpart on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

The semi-offical ISNA news agency also quoted the spokeswoman as saying the Islamic Republic – a key ally of Syrian president Bashar Assad – would attend the talks this week.

The invitation to the talks came after the United States declared itself ready to engage with Iran if it might help end Syria’s four-year civil war.