--- description: The U.S. has not ruled out an invite for Iran to upcoming Syria talks in Vienna on Friday title: Iran Welcome to Join Upcoming Syria Talks, U.S. Says image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7272b929c80a0367/69886e78196cf4d79c038b82/rtx1t2a1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Iran](/tag/iran/) ## Iran Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Iran Welcome to Join Upcoming Syria Talks, U.S. Says by [Joanna Plucinska](/author/joanna-plucinska/) ## Joanna Plucinska Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 28, 2015 3:42 AM CUT  U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, right, speaks to State Department spokesman John Kirby before he holds a briefing at Amman Civil Airport in Amman on Oct. 24, 2015 U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, right, speaks to State Department spokesman John Kirby before he holds a briefing at Amman Civil Airport in Amman on Oct. 24, 2015Carlo Allegri—Reuters by [Joanna Plucinska](/author/joanna-plucinska/) ## Joanna Plucinska Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 28, 2015 3:42 AM CUT The U.S. has not ruled out an invite for Iran to talks scheduled for Vienna on Friday regarding the protracted civil war in Syria, U.S. State Department spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. The [talks](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34647193 "undefined") between the U.S., Russia as well as Arab and European leaders are expected to revolve around ending the four-year conflict by creating a unity government and ushering Syrian President Bashar Assad out of power, [Agence France-Presse](http://news.yahoo.com/us-boost-anti-attacks-iraq-syria-defense-chief-163405801.html "undefined") says. Despite the fact that Iran is a close ally of Assad, the U.S. has said Tehran could partake in discussions and could also eventually become a “key partner” in ending the fighting, which has so far [claimed](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26116868 "undefined") 250,000 lives and forced 11 million people from their homes. However, it’s unclear whether any world power has extended a direct invitation yet. “Whether they come or not is up to Iranian leaders … \[Iran\] could be a key partner, but they are not now,” Kirby told [reporters](http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2015/10/248870.htm#SYRIA "undefined") on Tuesday. While diplomatic talks are ongoing, the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq and Syria is continuing its military mission to undermine the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), especially as the balance of power now sways in favor of the [Syrian government, rather than the U.S.-backed “moderate” rebels](http://www.defense.gov/News-Article-View/Article/626081/dunford-tells-senate-now-is-time-to-reinforce-iraqi-success-against-isil "undefined"). U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter has also[ said](http://time.com/4089485/direct-action-iraq-syria/ "undefined") the U.S. will soon start “direct action on the ground” against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. “The immediate priority is to bear down on core \[ISIS\] across Iraq and Syria, simultaneously,” Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford Jr. [told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday](http://www.defense.gov/News-Article-View/Article/626081/dunford-tells-senate-now-is-time-to-reinforce-iraqi-success-against-isil "undefined"). “We must do all we can to enable vetted Syrian opposition forces willing to fight \[ISIS\], and we must be more aggressive in strikes that will deny \[ISIS\] the access they have to oil revenue.” \[[_AFP_](http://news.yahoo.com/us-boost-anti-attacks-iraq-syria-defense-chief-163405801.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4090101/iran-us-syria-talks-vienna/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4090101/iran-us-syria-talks-vienna/"},"headline":"Iran Welcome to Join Upcoming Syria Talks, U.S. Says","datePublished":"2015-10-28T03:42:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:07:51.725Z","description":"Tehran could be a \"key partner\" in ending the four-year conflict","url":"https://time.com/4090101/iran-us-syria-talks-vienna/","keywords":["Iran","russia","Syria","U.S.","Civil War","ISIS"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7272b929c80a0367/69886e78196cf4d79c038b82/rtx1t2a1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Joanna Plucinska","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joanna-plucinska/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7272b929c80a0367/69886e78196cf4d79c038b82/rtx1t2a1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks to senior advisor John Kirby before he holds a briefing at Amman Civil Airport in Amman","caption":"U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks to senior advisor John Kirby before he holds a briefing at Amman Civil Airport in Amman","creditText":"Carlo Allegri—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/iran/","name":"Iran"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4090101/iran-us-syria-talks-vienna/","name":"Iran Welcome to Join Upcoming Syria Talks, U.S. Says"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Watch: Putin Speak About Syria at the UNGA","description":"Watch: Putin Speak About Syria at the UNGA","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/SrzgHjy5/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-09-30T12:14:50.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/SrzgHjy5.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4090101/iran-us-syria-talks-vienna/","duration":"PT26S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4090101/iran-us-syria-talks-vienna/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```