Qatar FM: Iran can play key role in Syria solution

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - In an exclusive interview with Arabic-language al-Jazeera news network on Monday, the top Qatari diplomat stated that Iran remains a major playmaker and its involvement in any negotiations or initiatives aimed at ending the Syrian conflict is essential.Attiyah asserted that Qatar was opposed to the exclusion of Iran from the Geneva II conference on the Syria crisis, stating that Doha government knows that Iran is an influential country in the region.On January 19, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tehran had been invited to the Geneva II conference but later retracted the invitation under pressure from the United States, Saudi Arabia and the foreign-backed Syria opposition.Iran had repeatedly stated that it would not accept any precondition for attending the Geneva II talks.Attiyah went on to say that Qatar supports a peaceful solution to the standoff over Tehran’s nuclear energy program, and defends the right of every country for the civilian application of the nuclear energy. He also called for a Middle East free from nuclear weapons.On November 24, 2013, Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council - Russia, China, France, Britain, and the US - plus Germany struck an interim agreement in the Swiss city of Geneva in an effort to pave the way for the full resolution of the West’s decade-old dispute with Tehran over its nuclear energy program.Under the landmark accord, the six world powers agreed to lift some of the existing sanctions against the Islamic Republic in exchange for Tehran’s confidence-building measure to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities for a six-month period. /149