U.S. May Be Open to Letting Iran Take Part in Syria Peace Talks

On May 31, the State Department made it clear they haven’t ruled out letting Iran take part in the upcoming Syrian peace talks.

Although the Obama administration has been critical of Iran for sending Hezbollah fighters to support Assad in the civil war, they are not decidedly against Iran taking part in the talks.

Instead, when asked about whether Iran will be involved, State Department spokesperson Jennifer Psaki said, “We have not yet determined that.” She said that decision will ultimately rest with the U.N.

On the other end of the spectrum, Iran claims they have been “verbally” invited to participate but haven’t received anything in writing yet. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said they will wait until they receive a written invitation before deciding whether to attend.