Iran Hands Brahimi Proposal to End Syria Conflict

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi on Sunday gave visiting U.N.-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi a proposal aimed at ending the conflict in key regional ally Syria.

Salehi said Tehran had "handed its unofficial detailed proposal in writing aimed at solving the Syrian crisis" to Brahimi as well as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, in comments broadcast on Arabic-language Al-Alam television.

He did not go into details about the proposals, only adding Tehran would support efforts by the international envoy.

Brahimi, who arrived in Tehran from Turkey after meeting with Saudi officials, welcomed the Iranian initiative.

"I thank you for the proposals and as I told you there are some ideas in your proposals which can help by adding to that forwarded by other nations who are also important with regards to the Syrian situation," Brahimi said in a joint press briefing.

"We hope all these ideas gather into a project to put an end to the Syrian people's nightmare.

"I am repeating the call by the United Nations secretary general (Ban Ki-moon) for the initiation of a ceasefire by the Syrian government and asking the opposition to reciprocate once the government commenced," he added.

Brahimi is due to meet top security official Saeed Jalili on Monday before leaving for Baghdad later that day, the website of state television reported.

The veteran troubleshooter is currently on a regional tour aimed at finding a solution to the 19-month conflict in Syria after Damascus rejected a U.N. call to implement a unilateral ceasefire.

Iran, the main backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad, seeks a political solution to the conflict and supports the envoy's mediation efforts.

More than 33,000 people have been killed since the uprising against Assad's rule erupted in March last year, says the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.