Iran to submit Syria peace plan to U.N.

Iran said Wednesday it will submit a new peace plan for war-ravaged Syria to the United Nations on the back of an international shift in favour of a political settlement.

Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said the plan, drafted after “detailed consultations” between Damascus and Tehran, was an amended version of an Iranian initiative presented last year.

The new proposal, to be submitted to UN chief Ban Ki-moon, amounts to “one of the most effective and serious plans on the agenda of the United Nations and international players”, Amir-Abdollahian told the Beirut-based Al-Mayedeen television channel that supports the Syrian regime.

Amir-Abdollahian, whose country is a key ally of Syria's embattled President Bashar al-Assad, did not give details.

But the channel spoke of four-point initiative calling for an immediate ceasefire, the formation of a national unity government, constitutional amendments on minority rights and internationally supervised elections.

Amir-Abdollahian said there had been “a strategic change in the attitude of the regional players with regards to Syria.

“If four years ago, many of the foreign players considered resorting to war as the solution for Syria, right now many of the players consider resorting to and focusing on a political solution as the most appropriate way to solve the Syrian crisis,” he said.

The Iranian announcement coincided with visits to Tehran by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov of Russia, another ally of the Damascus regime in its conflict against insurgents.

On Wednesday, Muallem met President Hassan Rouhani, who assured him Tehran would “use all our capabilities” to work towards resolving the conflict and help Syria's people.