Tehran Summit Highlights Parties’ Diversion from Points of Agreement

Iranian Foreign Minister Amir Hussein Abdollahian with his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mekdad, in Tehran on Wednesday (Iranian Foreign Ministry - DPA)
Iranian Foreign Minister Amir Hussein Abdollahian with his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mekdad, in Tehran on Wednesday (Iranian Foreign Ministry - DPA)
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Tehran Summit Highlights Parties’ Diversion from Points of Agreement

Iranian Foreign Minister Amir Hussein Abdollahian with his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mekdad, in Tehran on Wednesday (Iranian Foreign Ministry - DPA)
Iranian Foreign Minister Amir Hussein Abdollahian with his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mekdad, in Tehran on Wednesday (Iranian Foreign Ministry - DPA)

The outcomes of the Iranian-Russian-Turkish summit on Syria revealed the continued divergence in the positions of its three parties, which was confirmed by the explicit rejection by Tehran and Moscow of any Turkish military move in the north of the country.

They warned of its impact on the stability of the region and the territorial integrity of Syria.

At the conclusion of the summit, which was devoted to discussing the Syrian file and the revival of the Astana process, the parties condemned the growing presence of terrorist organizations in various parts of Syria.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russian President Vladimir Putin and their Iranian counterpart, Ibrahim Raisi, voiced their rejection of any attempt to create new facts on the ground under the pretext of combating terrorism, and their determination to face separatist agendas and infiltration operations that threaten the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria, as well as the national security of neighboring countries.

Erdogan has tried hard to persuade his Russian and Iranian counterparts to support a military operation he seeks to launch against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern Syria, with the aim of establishing a 30-kilometer-deep safe zone that serves as a security belt on Turkey’s borders in the south.

However, the statement issued at the end of the summit, which concluded in Tehran on Tuesday, did not contain a reference to Russia and Iran’s approval of the Turkish request.

Some observers saw in the statement about “the increasing presence of terrorist organizations… in various regions of Syria,” as an attempt by Turkey to convince the actors in Syria that the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, the largest component of the SDF, was a terrorist organization and forms an arm of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party.

However, the statements and warnings that emerged following Erdogan’s meetings with his Russian and Iranian counterparts, revealed rejection of the Turkish military operation as a threat to the stability of the region.

Following the summit, Iranian Foreign Minister Amir Hossein Abdollahian gave a new clear indication that a common position had not been reached with Turkey regarding the situation in northern Syria.

In a joint press conference on Wednesday with his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mekdad, who arrived in Tehran a few hours after the tripartite summit, Abdollahian reiterated his country’s concern over the possibility of Turkey launching new military action inside Syrian territory.

The Iranian minister expressed his hope that Turkish officials would take into consideration the recommendations emphasized in the tripartite summit of the leaders of the guarantor states of the Astana process, noting that the high-level meeting has helped put the Syrian crisis on the path of a political solution.

In turn, Mekdad affirmed his country’s rejection of the possible Turkish attack under the pretext of establishing safe areas.

He said that Turkey had no interest in carrying out an attack on Syria, expressing Damascus’ satisfaction with what he described as “the efforts made by Iran to come up with a balanced statement at the Tehran summit.”

During a joint press conference with his Russian and Iranian counterparts at the conclusion of the Tehran summit, Erdogan stressed his country’s determination to continue its struggle against what he described as “terrorist organizations” and to eradicate “hot spots” in Syria

On the other hand, Putin said that the Syrians should decide the fate of their country for themselves, away from foreign interference. Raisi, for his part, said all foreign powers should leave Syria.



Rights Defenders Denounce US Sanctions on UN Expert on Palestinians

UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
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Rights Defenders Denounce US Sanctions on UN Expert on Palestinians

UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo

Human rights defenders rallied on Thursday to support the top UN expert on Palestinian rights, after the United States imposed sanctions on her over what it said was unfair criticism of Israel.

Italian lawyer Francesca Albanese serves as special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, one of dozens of experts appointed by the 47-member UN Human Rights Council to report on specific global issues.

She has long criticized Israeli treatment of the Palestinians, and this month published a report accusing over 60 companies, including some US firms, of supporting Israeli settlements in the West Bank and military actions in Gaza.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday Albanese would be added to the US sanctions list for work which had prompted what he described as illegitimate prosecutions of Israelis at the International Criminal Court.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk urged Washington to reverse course.

"Even in the face of fierce disagreement, UN Member States should engage substantively and constructively, rather than resort to punitive measures," he said, Reuters reported.

Juerg Lauber, the Swiss permanent representative to the UN who now holds the rotating presidency of the Human Rights Council, said he regretted the sanctions, and called on states to "refrain from any acts of intimidation or reprisal" against the body's experts.

Mariana Katzarova, who serves as the special rapporteur for human rights in Russia, said her concern was that other countries would follow the US lead.

"This is totally unacceptable and opens the gates for any other government to do the same," she told Reuters. "It is an attack on UN system as a whole. Member states must stand up and denounce this."

Russia has rejected Katzarova's mandate and refused to let her enter the country, but it has so far stopped short of publicly adding her to a sanctions list.

Washington has already imposed sanctions against officials at the International Criminal Court, which has issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister for suspected war crimes in Gaza. Another court, the International Court of Justice, is hearing a case brought by South Africa that accuses Israel of genocide.

Israel denies that its forces have carried out war crimes or genocide against Palestinians in the war in Gaza, which was precipitated by an attack by Hamas-led fighters in October 2023.

"The United States is working to dismantle the norms and institutions on which survivors of grave abuses rely," said Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch.

The group's former head, Kenneth Roth, called the US sanctions an attempt "to deter prosecution of Israeli war crimes and genocide in Gaza".

The United States, once one of the most active members of the Human Rights Council, has disengaged from it under President Donald Trump, alleging an anti-Israel bias.