Tehran proposed that Iraq and Venezuela as well as Secretary-General of the Arab League Nabil al-Arabi and New UN-Arab League Special Envoy on Syria Lakhdar Brahimi join Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey in the talks on Syria.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for the Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian made the remarks on Wednesday, adding, "Tehran proposed adding some countries, like Iraq, because of its rotating chairmanship of the Arab League and Venezuela, because of its membership at the NAM Troika, side by side with Iran and Egypt."

"Iran's proposal also included the participation of the Secretary General of the Arab League Nabil al-Arabi and the UN Envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi," he said, referring to the innovative plan to form a quartet committee proposed by Egyptian President Mohammad Mursi to solve the crisis in Syria.

During the summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which was held in Mecca on August 14-15, President Mursi proposed the formation of the contact group on the situation in Syria with Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey as its members.

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.

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.

In October 2011, calm was eventually restored in the Arab state after President Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but Israel, the US and its Arab allies are seeking hard to bring the country into chaos through any possible means. Tel Aviv, Washington and some Arab capitals have been staging various plots in the hope of increasing unrests in Syria.
irna/281

News ID 182702