Iran's Invitation to Syria Peace Conference Rescinded

After the U.S., Syrian opposition objected

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has withdrawn his invitation for Iran to participate in Syria peace talks, a spokesman said, after the invite spurred objections from the United States and the Syrian opposition. 

The secretary-general's original invitation threatened to unravel the carefully planned meetings later this week in Switzerland, first in Montreux and then in Geneva. Though it was Secretary of State John Kerry who earlier this month floated the possibility of Iranian involvement -- with conditions -- Ban Ki-moon went a step further. To the dismay of the Obama administration, he invited Iran without first demanding that it publicly accept the premise that its ally Bashar Assad must leave power.