Iran's Role In Syria Peace Talks Roils Opposition

06:31

January 20, 2014

Smoke rises after an air strike, Sept. 22, 2013, in a village that has been turned into a battlefield between Free Syrian Army fighters and government forces in Idlib province, northern Syria. (Narciso Contreras/AP)

Syria's main, Western-back opposition group is threatening to boycott this week's peace conference after the last minute decision to invite Iran to the table.

The invitation from U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon came after he said he had received assurances from Tehran that it has accepted the premise of the talks — to establish a transitional government for Syria.

The peace talks are designed to bring together for the first time representatives of President Bashar al-Assad's government and the rebels who are trying to overthrow him. Assad says he has no plans to step down suggested over the weekend he will run in presidential elections in June.

The BBC's Jonathan Marcus joins Here & Now's Robin Young

Read more on this story via BBC News

Guest

Jonathan Marcus, defense and diplomatic correspondent for BBC News. He tweets @Diplo1.

This segment aired on January 20, 2014.