Iran hopes Lebanon attends Syria meeting

Iranian official Ali Akbar Javanfekr expressed his country's hope Tuesday that Lebanon would attend the upcoming meeting in Tehran devoted to resolving the Syria crisis. "As you know, a meeting will be held in the Islamic Republic of Iran this month and an official invitation has been extended to Lebanon. We hope that this invitation receives a positive response from the Lebanese side,” Javanfekr, press advisor to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, told reporters after meeting with Foreign Affairs Minister Adnan Mansour. “But even if circumstances do not permit Lebanon to attend, the Lebanese government will be briefed on the points raised,” he added. A report in Al-Hayat newspaper earlier this week indicated that Lebanon would not attend the meeting in accordance with its policy of disassociating itself from developments in Syria. Javanfekr declined to say which countries were expected to attend the meeting and whether or not Russia was among them. “Efforts are under way to prepare for an atmosphere conducive to consultations and the exchange of viewpoints among a few countries concerned with the Syrian situation. The important issue in this context is that we want to take a positive step regarding this matter,” he added. Commenting on the one-year-old crisis in Syria, one of Iran’s closest allies in the region, Javanfekr said his country recognized the “rightful, just, popular demands” of the Syrian people but said Damascus has begun to carry out needed reforms. He also said that reforms should take place in a calm and stable environment. Javanfekr, who had met earlier with Information Minister Walid Daouk, also criticized what he described as countries that are not part of the region’s fabric, saying that they blatantly intervene in the internal affairs of Syria and turn the people against the country’s leadership.