UN envoy: World waiting for Iran's presence in Geneva II conference on Syria

UN-Arab League joint special envoy on Syria Lakhdar Brahimi said the international community is insistent on having Iran in the upcoming Geneva II conference. Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, the UN envoy said no letter has been sent to the world states to invite them to the conference "but the UN Secretary-General, me and many people are waiting to see the Islamic Republic of Iran's participation in this meeting". "We are in a rush to hold this conference and we believe that many are in agreement with this view of ours," he added. Brahimi noted his visit to Iran, and said, "I am asking Iran the same thing that I have asked from other states to do, that is help and cooperation to end this perilous crisis in Syria." Brahimi arrived in Tehran earlier today. The UN-Arab League envoy is due to hold talks with senior Iranian officials on the latest developments in Syria as well as the upcoming International Geneva II Peace Conference. On Sunday, Arab League Chief Nabil al-Arabi announced that the peace conference for Syria will convene in Geneva on November 23. After meeting with Brahimi, al-Arabi acknowledged that there were still obstacles to holding the conference. Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country. Tens of hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed, when some protest rallies turned into armed clashes. The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad. Tel Aviv, Washington, Ankara and some Arab capitals have been staging various plots to topple President Bashar al-Assad, who is well known in the world for his anti-Israeli stances.