LATEST: Fars News Turns Insurgent Advance in Syria Into Regime “Victory”

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and the European Union’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton held unofficial nuclear talks in Istanbul on Monday.

The suddenly-arranged meeting came between the fourth set of talks on a comprehensive nuclear deal between Iran and the 5+1 Powers (US, Britain, China, Russia, France, and Germany) and the fifth round, scheduled for June 16 in Vienna.

The two sides have said that the discussions have entered the “difficult” phase of drafting agreements on issues such as Iran’s enrichment of uranium, the status of its nuclear facilities, and the lifting of US-led sanctions. They have said that the atmosphere is still “constructive”, although both Iran and the US face pressure from hardline groups in their home countries.

Zarif said before Monday’s meeting:

The two sides should look for new options or methods that will convince the other side.

I am still not pessimistic. I think that if the opposite side…has learnt the lesson that no progress will be made with pressure and sanctions, we will reach a resolution.

(PHOTO: Catherine Ashton and Mohammad Javad Zarif, November 2013)

Fars News Turns Insurgent Advance in Syria Into Regime “Victory”

The outlet of the Revolutionary Guards, Fars News, has a unique perspective on this weekend’s insurgent offensive in northwest Syria.

Opposition fighters have overrun regime bases and checkpoints throughout Idlib Province, threatening to cut off the Syrian military’s land routes from Damascus to Aleppo and from Idlib to Latakia on the Mediterranean coast.

Fars sees none of this. Instead, it reports:

The Syrian army targeted insurgents’ concentration centers and hideouts in several areas in Idlib countryside, killing and wounding tens of rebels.

A military source told FNA on Monday that army soldiers targeted the militants’ hideouts in Jabal al-Arbaeen in Idlib, Northwestern Syria, killing and wounding a large number of them.

FNA dispatches from Syria said that over 50 Takfiri terrorists, many of them foreigners, were killed in the army’s operations in Idlib countryside and their bodies are still left on the battlegrounds.

The source said that Jabal al-Arbaeen is now witnessing heavy fighting between the Syrian army and the terrorists, adding that the governmental forces have acted successfully in the region and are now advancing towards al-Fanar restaurant.

Head of Armed Forces: “US Beating the Air and Failing in Syria”

The head of Iran’s armed forces, General Hassan Firouzabadi, has said that the US is “beating the air” in Syria and will fail to achieve its goals, even as it plans to increase support for “terrorists”.

Firouzabadi declared, “Opposition forces are defeated in Syria, and not only they lack military capabilities, but it was also proven impossible to establish unity among them.”