LATEST: FM Zarif Cancels Dinner with EU’s Ashton Before Tuesday’s Nuclear Talks

With little notice, the United Nations mediator on Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, visited Iran on Sunday to discuss the political and military situation.

Brahimi’s mission came a month after two sets of talks in Geneva failed to bring agreement on an agenda, let alone issues, between regime and opposition delegations. Iran was not present at the discussions, but has been essential to Damascus for billions of dollars in economic support and for high-level military advice, intelligence, logistics, and training.

Iranian State media showed Brahimi with the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani.

Shamkhani put out Tehran’s line that reconciliation will come through Presidential elections this spring, with the inclusion of Syrians’ demands in any political initiative: “The principled position of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which has always been underscored, is support for and active cooperation with plans aimed at ending bloodshed and responding to the demands of the Syrian people.”

The Syrian opposition has insisted that President Assad must step aside for a transitional governing authority.

Without making any reference to Iran’s own involvement, Shamkhani emphasized the need for non-interference in Syria’s internal affairs, saying that foreign powers had backed “terrorists” challenging President Assad.

FM Zarif Cancels Dinner with EU’s Ashton Before Tuesday’s Nuclear Talks

The criticism of last week’s meeting between the European Union’s Catherine Ashton and women’s rights activists has now had a direct impact on nuclear discussions — Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has cancelled his working dinner with Ashton before tomorrow’s negotiations between Iran and the 5+1 Powers.

From Abas Aslani of Fars News:

MPs Demand Iran Stand on Nuclear Rights in This Week’s Talks

With talks between Iran and the 5+1 Powers resuming on Tuesday in Vienna, a majority of Iran’s MPs have signed a statement demanding that the Islamic Republic “not give up even an iota of its nuclear rights, including the right of uranium enrichment”.

Almost 170 of the 290 members of the Majlis wasserted that enrichment and other nuclear activities are in compliance with the Non-Profileration Treaty. They insisted that the talks not go beyond nuclear issues to consider topics such as Iran’s arsenal of missiles.

The US has so far refused to publicly recognize Iran’s right to enrichment, and France blocked inclusion of a reference in the preamble to November’s interim nuclear agreement.

However, lead American negotiator Wendy Sherman indicated earlier this month that the US can accept Iranian enrichment of up to 5% under strict safeguards and inspections.

Talks on a comprehensive nuclear deal opened in Vienna last month.