Iran’s Involvement in Syria Talks Alarms Hardliners

The United States, Iran, Iraq, China, Saudi Arabia and Russia agree that Islamic State extremists are a menace for the Middle East and must go – but are divided about whether the al-Assad regime can stabilize Syria and whether rebels opposed to that regime should be crushed or lauded. Iran is divided about participating in diplomatic talks to end Syria’s civil war and cooperating with the West. Iran’s hardliners “fear the nuclear agreement may have opened the floodgates to undesirable Western influences, and they see Iran's participation in the talks as another worrying sign President Hassan Rouhani is deviating from the Islamic revolutionary path,” reports Kasra Naji for BBC News. Talks to end Syria’s civil war made “modest progress,” Naji adds, with participants agreeing to a “political process” aiming for a ceasefire, a new governing body for Syria and a constitution that allows elections under UN supervision. More diplomatic talks are scheduled in two weeks. – YaleGlobal