Iran's absence at Geneva II hurts hopes for peace - Al-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Clovis Maksoud

Clovis Maksoud

Jan 21, 2014

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks to the media during a news conference following the E3/EU+3-Iran talks in Geneva November 24, 2013. Iran and six world powers reached a breakthrough deal on Sunday to curb Tehran's nuclear programme in exchange for limited sanctions relief, in what could be the first sign of an emerging rapprochement between the Islamic state and the West. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY MEDIA) - RTX15QOE — Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks to reporters during a news conference following the E3/EU+3-Iran talks in Geneva, Nov. 24, 2013. — REUTERS/Ruben Sprich

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L), U.N. Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi (C) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov make a statement to the press after a meeting discussing the ongoing problems in Syria at the United Nations offices in Geneva September 13, 2013. REUTERS/Larry Downing (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX13JNS

UN sending invites to Geneva II Syria peace talks; no decision yet on Iran

Laura Rozen

United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon (L) and Syria mediator Lakhdar Brahimi speak during a meeting in Mont Pelerin March 2, 2013. Ban and Syria mediator Brahimi expressed frustration on Saturday at the failure to end Syria's conflict and said the United Nations was ready to facilitate peace talks. Ban and Brahimi met in Mt. Pelerin, Switzerland, to discuss the two-year-old war that has killed more than 70,000 people. REUTERS/U.N. Photo/Evan Schneider/Handout (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) ATTENTION EDI

An appeal to Lakhdar Brahimi

Clovis Maksoud

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian (L), listens to Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi speaks ahead of the International Conference on Syria "Political Solution-Regional Stability " meeting in Azadi Hotel in Tehran, on May 29, 2013. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Iran reacts to UN retraction

Ali Hashem

In Doha, reporting on Iran, regional politics, conflict

Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem listens to EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton (R) as they wait for lunch during a break in the Geneva-2 peace talks in Montreux January 22, 2014. Syria's government and opposition, meeting for the first time, angrily spelled out their mutual hostility on Wednesday at a U.N. peace conference where world powers also offered sharply divergent views on forcing out Bashar al-Assad. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann (SWITZERLAND - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTX17PZ

Moallem: Aleppo proposal a response to Kerry's call for local cease-fires

Andrew Parasiliti

Andrew Parasiliti

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, national security