Iran mulls invitation to Vienna Syria summit

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran is considering whether to attend multilateral talks on Friday in Vienna that seek to resolve the conflict in Syria, the foreign ministry was quoted as saying on Wednesday, confirming it had received an invitation. If the ministry accepts the invitation, it will be the first time that Tehran, the main regional backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, attends an international summit on the war. Other participants, notably the United States, have called for Assad's departure as a precondition for peace. "Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Russian counterpart spoke on the phone yesterday and today about Syria and the coming summit in Vienna.... Iran's participation is under discussion," Iranian agencies quoted foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham as saying. The Islamic Republic says it has sent "military advisers" to bolster Assad's forces, while Russia last month began carrying out air strikes in support of the government. Tehran and Moscow say they are fighting Islamic State militants, but other rebel groups say they have also been targeted. An official in the region told Reuters on Tuesday that the United States and Russia had invited Iran for the talks and said Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian would attend, while Zarif's potential attendance was still under discussion. Tehran has advocated a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Syria, which has killed more than 250,000 people and displaced millions. But Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has also forbidden negotiations with the United States on any issue other than the nuclear file. The U.S. State Department has confirmed Secretary of State John Kerry will attend the Vienna talks on Friday. (Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Editing by Sam Wilkin/Jeremy Gaunt)