Kofi Annan’s visit to Iran last week bears fruit as Foreign Minister announces willingness for a mediation in the Syrian crisis.

Author: Stephen Alexander - Kofi Annan traveled to Iran last week to seek help in a resolution of the Syrian crisis. A step in this direction is not one in which the United States was prepared to make. However, Annan’s trip to Iran bears fruit this week as the Iranian Foreign Minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, announced a desire for mediation between the Syrian government and its opposition forces.

Iran’s offer to help in the Syrian crisis has been rejected by the United States and its allies who support the dissident groups in Syria. Kofi Annan has suggested that stumbling blocks are created when foreign nations send weapons, money, and personnel  to Syria.

In May 2012, the Washington Post and the US Daily, reported that the Syrian dissidents fighting against the Syrian government have received significantly more and better weapons in recent weeks. The weapons were paid for by Persian Gulf Arab states and arranged by the United States.

Moreover, the newspapers reported that Obama administration officials expanded contacts with the Syrian opposition. Accordingly, the weapons are being stockpiled in Damascus, in Idlib near the Turkish border, and in Zabadani on the Lebanese border.

Recently, Iran was omitted from Kofi Annan’s multinational “action group” meeting on Syria in Geneva in June 2012. At that meeting, the western countries called for a “transitional government.” However, the former United Nations’ chief traveled to Iran last week to seek help from Iran in a resolution of the Syrian crisis.

Contact between the Syrian government and the Syrian opposition with the Islamic Republic of Iran could pave the road for a mediation between the two sides, according to Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi.

The Foreign Minister announced that the Iranian government is ready to facilitate talks between the Syrian Republic’s government and the opposition. He has asked the countries in the region and those interested in making peace, stability and security in the region to come together to settle the Syrian crisis. He wants to find a way to secure the interests of the Syrian people, and the regional and global community.

An invitation for mediation was given by Iran to Syrian dissidents to come to Tehran “to prepare and facilitate the ground for talks” between the two parties. The Foreign Minister said that the Syrian crisis should not need foreign governments involved in the negotiations. He hopes that the Syrian problems can be resolved with cooperation between Iran, the United Nations and other regional states.