, Columnist
A New Syria Process Cuts Out Iran to Bring in Gulf Arabs
The marginalization of the Islamic Republic would suit all the other parties involved.
Guess who’s getting left out?
Photographer: Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images EuropeThis article is for subscribers only.
The plot just thickened in the contest to shape post-conflict Syria: Russia, Turkey and Qatar have launched a new trilateral “consultation process” to promote a political solution to the 10-year civil war. Crucially, it does not include Iran.
The goal, it would appear, is to pave the way for broader Gulf Arab re-engagement with Syria, and a concomitant marginalization of Iranian influence.