US & UK for Negotiations with Iran & Syria over the Situation in the Middle East

Iran and Syria will agree to cooperate about the situation in Iraq, Lebanon and Palestinian territories as key players if they have what to gain and not to be seen as yielding to UK and US pressure into negotiations under the threat of escalating international sanctions when both are accused by the US as harbouring international terrorism.

But it’s better to “jaw and jaw rather than war and war.” Maybe opening a diplomatic dialogue on the situation in Iraq can ease the tension on other issues like Iran nuclear program and Syria alleged involvement in Lebanon. It can be a way for trust building between these two countries and the West. It’s better for them to be seen as having rounds of talks on peace in Iraq than to be considered as the major supporters of armed groups and a safe haven for insurgents who make hit and run attacks inside Iraq.

For the success of any talks, Syria and Iran should succeed in persuading the elements they harbour as fighters to adapt political lines in accordance with the agreement they can reach with the US and the UK concerning the situation in Iraq in particular and in the Middle East in general.

Intransigence on all sides will keep the situation deteriorate in Iraq in particular, which can be used by the Syrian and Iranian regimes along with that in Lebanon and Israel as a pressure card to make themselves heard internationally after their relatively international isolation . This can also serve them to win the heart and mind of people around the Islamic and the Arab world as a force capable to stand to the US when other regimes in the region are accused of being servile to it.

It remains to see how flexible all parties will be once talks open between them.