ResurgentIran
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UN invites Iran to Syria peace talks
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has invited Iran to take part in Syrian peace talks this week in Switzerland - an offer Tehran has accepted.
Mr Ban said he had received assurances that Iran would play a positive role in securing a transitional government.
The so-called Geneva II talks, to open in the town of Montreux, are due to start on Wednesday.
Syria's government and the main political opposition group earlier agreed to attend the meeting.
The three-year conflict in Syria has claimed the lives of more than 100,000 people.
An estimated two million people have fled the country and some 6.5 million have been internally displaced.
US reservations
On Sunday, Mr Ban said that Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had pledged that Tehran would play "a positive and constructive" role if it was asked to participate.
Mr Ban added that he believed strongly that Iran had to be part of any solution to the crisis in neighbouring Syria.
Shortly afterwards, Iran said it accepted the invitation. Tehran had earlier insisted it wanted to take part but without preconditions.
There had been a dispute over whether Iran, a crucial ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, should be taking part in the talks.
The UN and Russia had advocated a role for Tehran, but the US had reservations because of its failure to endorse the 2012 Geneva Communique, detailing Syria's political transition process.
Washington is also concerned about Iran's deployment of military personnel in Syria, and its support of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, which had sent fighters to bolster Mr Assad's forces.
BBC News - UN invites Iran to Syria peace talks
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has invited Iran to take part in Syrian peace talks this week in Switzerland - an offer Tehran has accepted.
Mr Ban said he had received assurances that Iran would play a positive role in securing a transitional government.
The so-called Geneva II talks, to open in the town of Montreux, are due to start on Wednesday.
Syria's government and the main political opposition group earlier agreed to attend the meeting.
The three-year conflict in Syria has claimed the lives of more than 100,000 people.
An estimated two million people have fled the country and some 6.5 million have been internally displaced.
US reservations
On Sunday, Mr Ban said that Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had pledged that Tehran would play "a positive and constructive" role if it was asked to participate.
Mr Ban added that he believed strongly that Iran had to be part of any solution to the crisis in neighbouring Syria.
Shortly afterwards, Iran said it accepted the invitation. Tehran had earlier insisted it wanted to take part but without preconditions.
There had been a dispute over whether Iran, a crucial ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, should be taking part in the talks.
The UN and Russia had advocated a role for Tehran, but the US had reservations because of its failure to endorse the 2012 Geneva Communique, detailing Syria's political transition process.
Washington is also concerned about Iran's deployment of military personnel in Syria, and its support of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, which had sent fighters to bolster Mr Assad's forces.
BBC News - UN invites Iran to Syria peace talks
