PHOTO: US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Saturday

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SUNDAY FEATURES

US Officials — We’re Putting Strategy on Hold Because of Russia’s Intervention
Developing: Rebels — Ceasefire Collapsing After Regime Attacks in Northwest

UPDATE 1630 GMT: US Secretary of State John Kerry said as he met Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov on Sunday:

This is the beginning of a genuine effort to see if there is a way to deconflict but also to find a way forward….

[The goal is] a united, secular Syria that can be at peace and stable again without foreign troops present. And that’s our hope.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: The US has signaled its intention to engage Russia and Iran in discussions for high-level international conference to end Syria’s crisis, with Secretary of State John Kerry meeting Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at the United Nations in New York.

On Monday, President Obama will meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin at the UN.

In late June, Russia and Iran launched an initiative for the conference to confirm President Assad’s stay in power during a “transition”. The effort collapsed in mid-August when Saudi Arabia, in a press conference in Moscow, insisted that Assad would have to leave before negotiations developed.

However, Russia has renewed the campaign this month, linking it to their escalation of warplanes, troops, and advanced military equipment inside Syria.

Kerry said at the start of Saturday’s meeting with Zarif, “I view this week as a major opportunity for any number of countries to play an important role. We need to achieve peace and a way forward in Syria, in Yemen, in the region itself.”

The discussion marked the shift in US policy since a July 14 nuclear deal between Iran and the 5+1 Powers. In early 2014, the Obama Administration blocked Tehran from attending a peace conference on Syria, on the grounds that its military — including the elite Qods Forces — were involved alongside Syrian troops. Washington said Iran also did not accept that the talks should lead to a transitional Syrian administration with the “mutual consent” of the opposition and the Government.

However, this month Kerry has pulled back from the US condition that Assad leave power immediately. He has said that the President did not have to step aside of “Day 1 or Month 1″ of a process. He called upon both Russia and Iran to help bring Assad to the negotiating table.

For his part, Zarif used public remarks before the meeting to jab at Saudi Arabia, referring to the deaths of almost 800 pilgrims — including 136 Iranians — in a Mecca stampede: “The situation in the region, the unfortunate developments in Saudi Arabia over the last week, have been disastrous, and we need to address them.”

Israel Strikes 2 Regime Military Posts After Misfired Rocket Crosses Border

Israel has retaliate with attacks on regime military posts after rockets from the Syrian military crossed the border. The Israel Defense Forces spokesman, Peter Lerner, said on Sunday evening:

Lerner said the regime rocket struck in northern Israel, causing no casualties. He continued, “Israel will not tolerate violation of its sovereignty. Syrian military is responsible and accountable for any aggression emanating from Syria.”

Iraqi Military: We Are Cooperating with Syria-Russia-Iran over Islamic State Threat

The Iraqi military has said that it is cooperating in Baghdad with Russia, Iran, and Syria to counter the threat from the Islamic State.

A statement from Joint Operations Command on Saturday said the cooperation had come “with increased Russian concern about the presence of thousands of terrorists from Russia undertaking criminal acts with Daesh [Islamic State]”.

Russian news agency Interfax, quoting “a military diplomatic source” in Moscow, said the coordination center would be led on a rotating basis by officers of the four countries. The source added that a committee might be created in Baghdad to plan military operations and control military units in the fight against the Islamic State.

Rebels Accuse Kurdish Militia of Attacks on Vehicles Supplying Eastern Aleppo Province

Rebels have accused the Kurdish militia YPG of attacks on vehicles supplying opposition-held areas in eastern Aleppo Province.

An image circulating on social media showed a civil defense fire truck ablaze.

YPG ATTACK TRUCK EAST ALEPPO

Rebel sources say the attacks are a serious threat to supplies in the area, which is being contested between the opposition, regime forces, and the Islamic State. The sources warn that, if the assaults continue, rebels could be forced to challenge YPG positions in northwest Aleppo Province.

In Aleppo city, the Islamist Jabhat al-Nusra has been clashing with the YPG in the Sheikh Maqsoud area. There are also reports of a fight with Ahrar al-Sham, one of the largest rebel factions, after it came to the defense of another unit which was besieged by the Kurdish militia.

Activists and rebel spokesman are also disseminating the photograph of the bloodied body of a man whom they said was killed by “PKK terrorists”, a reference to the Turkish Kurdish insurgency whom they claim is responsible for the violence inside Syria. Accounts said the man was slain, and three others wounded by a Kurdish sniper in Sheikh Maqsoud.

The pro-opposition Aleppo Media Center is also reporting mortar fire by the Kurdish militia YPG in the area.

A Jabhat al-Nusra video on the events:

Video: French President Announces 1st Airstrikes Against Islamic State

President Francois Hollande said on Sunday that France has carried out its first airstrikes on the Islamic State inside Syria.

Hollande said six jet fighters destroyed an Islamic State training camp in the east of the country.

“The camp was totally destroyed,” Hollande said from New York, where he is attending the UN General Assembly. He said that France was “sure there were no casualties” among civilians.

Hollande told reporters that the airstrikes were “protecting our territory, cutting short terrorist actions, acting in legitimate defense” and that more attacks “could take place in the coming weeks if necessary”.

The President announced earlier this month that Paris was expanding its airstrikes from Iraq into Syria.

Putin Calls Saudi Arabia’s King Salman

Russian President Vladimir Putin called Saudi Arabia’s King Salman on Saturday to discuss the Syria crisis.

The two men “exchanged views on regional security matters, first and foremost, in the context of finding ways to settle the conflict in Syria”, a statement on the Kremlin’s website said.

They also discussed “building more effective international cooperation in the fight against the so-called ISIS and other terrorist groups”.

Riyadh is a major obstacle to Russia’s political initiative for high-level talks to maintain President Assad in power during a transition.