U.N. Rescinds Invite to Iran On Syria Talks as U.S. Balks

1/20/14
 
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from The Wall Street Journal,
1/20/14:

The United Nations, under intense pressure from the U.S. and other countries, withdrew an invitation to Iran to participate in a Syria peace conference this week, a diplomatic bungle that muddied international efforts to end the civil war.

The bruising international face-off over Iran’s participation came just two days before world powers gather in Switzerland for a long-awaited conference aimed at finding a way out of the nearly three-year conflict that has claimed more than 100,000 lives.

Beside calling attention to international friction over Syria, the political discord exposed challenges the U.S. is facing as its pursues a rapprochement with Tehran’s hard-line Islamic leadership.

Senior U.S. officials on Monday said they were committed to keeping negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program apart from efforts to end Tehran’s support for Mr. Assad’s government.

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