The secretary of the Supreme National Security Council said on Monday Iran is prepared to cooperate with the United Nations in the battle against terrorism.
Ali Shamkhani made the remarks in a meeting with UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura in Tehran, IRNA reported.
The two officials discussed the latest political and security developments in Syria.
Shamkhani described the international conferences held to end the crisis in Syria as "fruitless", saying they have reinforced terrorist groups currently fighting the administration elected by the Syrian people.
He said the wrong decisions made in this regard should be revised and called for supporting the real demands of the Syrian nation and making efforts to promote security and stability in the Arab country.
The senior official added, "In spite of the Syrian government's readiness to hold negotiations with various Syrian political groups, the irresponsible conduct of certain Western and regional states as well as arming dissidents and provoking them to kill civilians are the major obstacles in the way of bringing peace to Syria."
He said Iranian officials had repeatedly warned that terrorist groups would ultimately target their own supporters, adding that creating new terrorist groups to contain previous ones or conducting military operations by foreign countries will intensify the crisis.
"Iran will continue its anti-terror combat to bring security back to the region based on its principled and humanitarian policies and is prepared to give assistance to the United Nations as the only legitimate body responsible in this regard."
De Mistura, for his part, said Iran's experience can be used to find solutions to the crisis in Syria.
He also emphasized that the humanitarian catastrophe which is unfolding in Syrian border towns highlights the necessity of employing strategies which can persuade influential regional states to get involved in the battle against terrorism.
Political Solution to Syria Crisis
The director of the Expediency Council's Center for Strategic Studies Ali Akbar Velayati also met with de Mistura on Sunday.
The two officials attended a news conference after the meeting in which they called for a "non-military" solution to the Syria crisis, ISNA reported.
De Mistura elaborated on the objectives of his visit to Iran and said, "I started from Damascus and I am planned to end it there, I also hope to be able to collect suggestions in my tour of regional states which include political solutions."
"My trip to Tehran is meant to become aware of Iran's stance toward the crisis in Syria and the ways to address the crisis which has lasted for three and a half years," he said.
The UN Syria envoy said, "The UN secretary general has assigned me a tough mission and I do my utmost to find a solution to the crisis in Syria."
He expressed hope that appropriate solutions would be found to deal with terrorist groups and said, "IS has provided an opportunity for all countries to get united and negotiate on the eradication of terrorism and, more importantly, has made the anti-terror campaign a priority."
"Overcoming the crisis in Syria has only one solution and it is political, not military."
Deplorable Repercussions
Velayati said, "Syria's neighboring states should be in search of solutions to the crisis and refrain from intervening in the internal affairs of the country.
"All the (involved) countries should understand that taking advantage of armed groups in and out of Syria against the Syrian nation and government and helping them illegally enter the Syrian borders will have deplorable repercussions for the entire world."
He also said, "The regional countries should endeavor to tackle the crisis through peaceful means within the framework of the country's constitution."
Regional Players' Engagement
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also met with de Mistura on Sunday, the Mehr news agency reported. The two officials discussed the latest developments in Syria and called on the key players in the region to make efforts to find a political solution taking the realities in Syria into consideration.
Zarif expressed hope that de Mistura would succeed to play a "positive" and "independent" role as the UN secretary general's special envoy for Syria.
