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The US State Department announced that Iran is going to be invited to participate in multilateral talks about the conflict in Syria which will take place in Vienna. It will be the first such US invitation extended to Iran since the eruption of the Syrian crisis in 2011.

"At some point, obviously - and the Secretary's talked about this - we know there's going to need to be a conversation with Iran towards the end of a political transition there [in Syria], towards that end," US State Department spokesperson John Kirby said during daily press briefing on Monday.

He further said: "At some point, the Secretary has made clear, Iran's going to have to be made part of this discussion. Now when that's going to be and where that's going to be and under what context, I think it's fair to say that all that is still being worked out."

Although Kirby has not specified when Iran is going to join the multilateral talks over Syria, there are some speculations that the country could take part in the next diplomatic round which starts on Thursday in Vienna.

Russia, conversely, insists on an inclusive format for political dialogue, which requires the participation of all parties involved in the conflict.

"It is necessary to unite everybody in all directions," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press-conference on Tuesday. He also held a phone conversation with his Iranian counterpart about the Syria.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team