Iran FM, Syria delegation meet in Astana to discuss Middle East

The senior adviser to the Iranian foreign minister, Ali Asghar Khaji met with a Syrian delegation in Astana in Kazakhstan. The meeting is part of a process going back six years that is designed to bring together Iran, Russia and Turkey to discuss the future of Syria. As the Syrian regime has solidified some of its power in western Syria, the goal of Russia and Iran is now to get Turkey and Damascus to reconcile.

Iran is taking the meeting in Astana seriously. It is unclear how much Russia or Turkey cares about this process. Nevertheless, the Iranians used the meetings to discuss “confronting the crimes of the Zionist regime and preventing the spread of tension to the entire region.”

This is the 22nd meeting in Astana between the parties involved. “Asghar Khaji held a meeting and talks with the chief negotiator of Syria and the accompanying delegation in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan,” the Iranian state news IRNA noted.

According to the report the Iranians also met the Syrians on the sidelines of the meetings with the Russians and Turkish delegations.

“In this bilateral meeting, the two sides discussed the latest developments in the region, the political and field developments in Syria, especially crimes and aggressive attacks of the Zionist regime in the region. For his part, the chief negotiator of Syria in Astana emphasized the continuation of strategic relations between Syria and Iran and the expansion of relations between the two countries,” IRNA reported.

Iran wants to use these meetings and recent meetings it had with Iraqi officials in Tehran, and also meetings in Saudi Arabia to hammer Israel. Iran's “regional cooperation to put an end to the war and crimes of the Zionist regime, to restore stability and security in the region, and to help the Palestinian and Lebanese people.

The Astana format talks, the previous session of which took place in January, were launched in 2017 under the guarantors Iran, Turkiye, and Russia to resolve the Syrian civil war, which began in early 2011.”

In Riyadh Iran’s Vice-President Mohammad Reza Aref invited Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to visit Tehran. Iran and Saudi Arabia have reconciled ties over the last two years.

“Aref was speaking in a Monday meeting with the Saudi crown prince on the sidelines of an extraordinary meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League in the Saudi capital,” Iran’s IRNA noted.

“There is no doubt that the benefits of this deepening of relations will not only include Iran and Saudi Arabia, but certainly, considering the characteristics and impacts of the two big countries on the region and the Islamic world, this will lead to the development of regional cooperation and solidarity among Islamic nations,” Aref said.

In another development, the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, which is affiliated with Hezbollah, reported that Iraq wants to hold an Arab summit this coming May, to discuss regional issues.

The goal would be to use the summit to continue to bash Israel and cement Iran’s ties with Arab states. Iran has been hollowing out Iraq and using it as a base for militias to attack Israel.