Brahimi visits Tehran to discuss Syrian crisis

The UN-Arab League special envoy for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, has arrived in Tehran to discuss the Syrian crisis with Iranian officials, the main backers of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime. Brahimi’s visit comes at a time when regime forces have achieved significant gains on the ground in a civil war that has been raging in Syria for the past three years.

Iran’s state news agency reported that shortly after his arrival on Sunday, Brahimi met with the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, Ali Shamkhani, and called on Tehran to help the United Nations stop the atrocities being committed in Syria.

Iran is the main ally of the Syrian regime led by President Al-Assad in a conflict that has now killed nearly 146,000 people, according to non-governmental organisations.

Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon asked Moscow and Tehran on Friday to press the Syrian regime to push for the resumption of the stalled negotiations.

The second round of negotiations ended in Geneva on 15 February without achieving any progress towards a peaceful settlement. The date for another round of talks has not been set yet.