Alwaght- From last Tuesday, the second round of a diplomatic tour of Mohammad Javad Zarif, to Lebanon, Syria, Pakistan and India has begun with a trip to Beirut. On his way, he also paid a visit to Damascus and then will visit Islamabad and New Delhi. A trip to Turkey was also on the list, but it is postponed. Zarif, supposedly, postponed his trip to Turkey in response to Erdogan's refusal to him.
The first round of regional tour of the Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif ended two weeks ago in which he travelled to Kuwait, Qatar and Iraq and held talks with their highest-ranking officials, about the regional issues and bilateral ties, particularly the growing terrorism in the region. These trips, especially in the post-nuclear agreement era are of great importance. To ease the concerns of some Arab states about the nuclear deal and holding talks about the fight against terrorism, are probably the main programs of the journey the Iranian Foreign Ministry has properly put on the agenda.
It seems that the bulk of the goals of these trips could be associated to the Syrian crisis and managing the damaging effects of the terrorist attacks in the region. Especially that Saudi Arabia has also been pursuing an active diplomacy on Syrian crisis, as it is reported that senior Saudi officials including the defense minister and deputy crown prince have organized some travels and meetings in this regard.
These trips made by Iran and Saudi Arabia have different purposes, and could not be defined in the same way; however, the Syria crisis could be considered from another dimension; particularly with respect to the scope of activities of extremist and terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq. Iran's diplomatic activities could be aimed at attracting the attention of some other regional actors or governments which are affected by the crisis.
In the meantime, there is an important point and that is the importance of visits to Saudi Arabia and Turkey as two important regional actor in the Syrian crisis. It goes without saying that, for the time being, due to some considerations, visit to Saudi Arabia is not on the agenda of Iran. But the important point is to make Riyadh and Ankara establish a common ground for the situation in Damascus. Over the past few days, there were some speculations in the media that Iran and Saudi foreign ministers are going to meet in Moscow and hold talks on the Syrian crisis.
Regardless of the authenticity of the news, its nature can affect the current state of the crisis. Tehran and Riyadh are both well aware of their significant roles in developments of the region, especially in Syria. Nobody expects Tehran and Riyadh to reach an agreement or even adopt a common constructive position on this crisis; however, it is possible to work out some moderate tactics and overcome the current impasse with mediation of some regional and trans-regional actors such as Russia.
The regional trips made by Mohammad Javad Zarif are obviously necessary in a balanced and interest-driven diplomacy. But if the trips are aimed to manage the damaging effects of the terrorist attacks in the region, we must first trace its origins. Because, at the same time, Saudi officials would also travel to some countries in the region to ensure their collaboration with Riyadh and take countermeasures. Therefore, we may conclude that holding talks with Saudi Arabia, and outspoken critical discussion about the malicious activities of Saudi Arabia in Syria could have double importance in the midst of the diplomatic tour that Mohammad Javad Zarif has embarked on.
