LATEST: Claim — Revolutionary Guards Kill 3 Insurgents in West

SUNDAY FEATURE

Video Analysis: Trouble Ahead in Nuclear Talks?

SUMMARY: Tehran received a boost on Saturday in its effort to take a place at the top table for discussions of the Syrian conflict, with United Nations envoy Lakhdar Brahimi saying, “The participation of Iran at [the] Geneva 2 [conference] is natural and necessary.”

The Islamic Republic has long pressed for a place in talks, but has been blocked by the US. Washington has tried since April, alongside Russia, to convene a conference in Geneva.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif diplomatically said after his meeting with Brahimi, “If Iran is invited to take part in Geneva 2, we will be there to help find a diplomatic solution.”

Zarif continued, “Iran supports any initiative and solution aimed at helping the resolution of Syria crisis based on taking into account the role of the people of the country, and it will employ what it has in power to advance this process.”

President Rouhani’s office puts out a picture of his meeting with Brahimi:

Twitter Account Linked To Jaish ul-Adl Calls For Support

A Twitter account linked to Jaish ul-Adl, the Sistan-Baluchestan based Sunni insurgent group that claimed responsibility for an attack against IRGC personnel in the province, has called for those who want to support the fight against the Iranian government to support them:

Claim: Revolutionary Guards Kill 3 Insurgents in West

The State newspaper Iran claims Revolutionary Guards have killed three members of the Kurdish insurgency PJAK.

The fighting late Friday was near Baneh, about 488 kilometers (305 miles) west of Tehran, near the Iraqi border.

Rouhani Orders Special Committee to Deal with Insurgent Attack That Killed 14 Border Guards

President Rouhani has promised a quick response to the insurgent attack earlier this month that killed at least 14 border guards.

After a meeting of the Supreme National Security Council on Saturday, Rouhani said, “I ask the respectable Interior Minister to immediately set up a special committee in cooperation with the law enforcement police to deal with this development and confront such outlawed activities and inform me of the results very rapidly.”

The Sunni insurgent group Jaish ul-Adl, formed last year, claimed responsibility for an attack in Sistan and Baluchestan Province in southeastern Iran.

See Iran Spotlight: Sunni Insurgent Group Jaish ul-Adl Claims Responsibility For Attack On Border Guards

On October 12, the group posted that it had killed a number of Iranian soldiers. Iranian media only reported the development on Friday — it is unclear whether Jaish ul-Adl’s Twitter message on Saturday referred to a second attack.

A judicial official said on Saturday that 16 insurgents had been executed in connection with the incident.

Meanwhile, the Commander of the Border Guard Force, General Hossein Zolfaqari, denied that any troops had been kidnapped by Jaish ul-Adl.

Fars had initially reported on Friday that four border guards had been seized.