Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif traveled to Damascus on Monday for talks with Syrian officials, the Tasnim news agency reported.
Iranian forces have backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the country’s civil war.
Last week, Iran's defence minister traveled to Damascus and signed an agreement for defence cooperation between the two countries with his Syrian counterpart.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Iran, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said Monday, according to Fars News.
Turkey is on full alert in the Eastern Mediterranean with the launch of Russian military drills and U.S. destroyers equipped with Tomahawk missiles turning toward the region as an offensive in Syria’s last opposition-held stronghold of Idlib looms.The Russian defense ministry said that more than 25 warships and support vessels and around 30 planes, including fighter jets and strategic bombers, would take part in the Mediterranean drills which it said would last from Sept. 1 to Sept. 8.Upon these developments, Turkey, which previously had 10 warships in the region, dispatched several more naval vessels to the region, the exact number of which is unknown.Turkey has numerously expressed its objections to an Idlib offensive, saying it would lead to disaster, and is taking every precaution to protect its rights and interests in international waters.US sees assault on Idlib as escalation of Syria conflict: PompeoGermany warns of ‘catastrophe’ in Syria’s Idlib'Turkey essential to preventing bloodbath in Syria’s Idlib’U.S. aggression against SyriaAnatoly Antonov, Russia's ambassador to the United States, warned Washington on Thursday against what he called "groundless and illegal aggression against Syria." Antonov said he had told U.S. officials Moscow was concerned by signs that the United States was preparing new strikes on Syria.Warships at the readyThe U.S. and NATO allies such as the U.K. and France are keeping their navy ships in the Mediterranean on full alert. The Russian Defense Ministry said U.S. destroyers Karni and Ross will be ready to strike Syria within 24 hours. On Saturday, U.S. navy ship USNS Carson City T-EPF-7 reached the Mediterranean from the Dardanelles Strait. The U.S. had previously struck Syria by having warships deployed in the Mediterranean, Red Sea and the Basra Gulf fire missiles at Syrian regime targets. Though not directly linked to the developments in Idlib, Turkey’s ramped-up presence in the Mediterranean aims to prevent a fait accompli in Turkish waters with regards to issues of security and energy. Countries such as Russia, the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Israel, Egypt, Greece and Italy all maintain a navy presence in the Mediterranean.The United Nations has called on Russia, Iran and Turkey to delay a battle that could affect millions of civilians.Russia and Turkey, along with Iran are sponsoring the Astana peace talks, which focuses on a cease-fire and ending the seven-year civil war in Syria.Syria’s civil war has cost an estimated 400,000 lives, displaced more than 11 million people and led to a severe shortage of food, clean water and healthcare.
Turkish warships at the ready in East Med as Idlib battle looms
"I'm optimistic that this meeting will be successful and productive for the region, the people of Syria and the fight against terrorism," Qassemi said.
Fars News said the leaders would meet on Friday.
The meeting comes as Syrian government forces are preparing a phased offensive in the northwestern province of Idlib and surrounding areas, the last big opposition enclave.
"Iran, as a supporter of the Syrian government, is present and will continue its advisory help as long as the Syrian government wants," Qassemi said, according to Fars News.
A total of 391 civilians, including 66 children, were killed in war-torn Syria last month, according to a Syrian NGO on Saturday.In a statement, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said Syrian regime forces were responsible for the majority of the fatalities.“Some 239 civilians were killed in regime attacks in August, including 13 children and eight women,” the SNHR said.US sees assault on Idlib as escalation of Syria conflict: PompeoRussian forces, a main backer of the Bashar al-Assad regime, were responsible for the death of 36 civilians in Syria last month, it said.Some 15 civilians were killed by the YPG/PKK terrorist group, including three children and three women, according to the SNHR.Five children were among 12 civilians killed by the Daesh terrorist group in Syria last month while unidentified parties were responsible for the death of 88 civilians, including 25 children and 17 women, it added.Residents of Syria’s Idlib look to Turkey for securityThe rights group said a total of 6,036 civilians had been killed in war-torn Syria since January, going on to call on the international community to provide protection to civilians in war-torn Syria and bring the parties responsible for civilian deaths to justice..Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity. Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and millions displaced in the conflict, according to the UN. Turkish FM meets Syrian opposition head in Ankara
391 civilians killed in Syria in August: NGO
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday said the United States views the Syrian regime military assault on opposition-held Idlib as an escalation of the Syrian conflict, as the State Department warned that Washington would respond to any chemical attack by Damascus.The Syrian province of Idlib and surrounding areas are the last major enclave held by those who oppose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a close Russian ally. A source has told Reuters Assad is preparing a phased offensive to regain the province."The U.S sees this as an escalation of an already dangerous conflict," Pompeo said in a post on Twitter in which he also blasted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for "defending (the) Syrian and Russian assault."'Turkey essential to preventing bloodbath in Syria’s Idlib’Lavrov said on Friday the Syrian government had every attack Idlib and that talks continued on establishing humanitarian corridors there.The State Department said the new U.S. special representative for Syria, James Jeffrey, would travel to Israel, Jordan, and Turkey from Saturday to Tuesday on his first official trip abroad.Jeffrey and his delegation will "underscore that the United States will respond to any chemical weapons attack perpetrated by the Syrian regime," the State Department said in a statement.Turkey to take concrete steps to protect Syria’s IdlibThey will also "address Russia’s specious allegations of international plans to stage a chemical weapons attack in Syria," the statement said.The United Nations on Thursday called on Russia, Iran and Turkey to forestall a battle in Idlib which would affect millions of civilians and could see both militants and the government potentially using chlorine as a chemical weapon.Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem, speaking after talks with Lavrov in Moscow on Thursday, said government forces will "go all the way" in the opposition-held northern region of Idlib, but that they did not have and would not use chemical weapons. Turkey working to prevent 'disaster' in Syria: Erdoğan
US sees assault on Idlib as escalation of Syria conflict: Pompeo