Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif announced that Iran opposes the participation of the U.S. in Astana talks, saying: "We did not invite them" in an interview with Tasnim news agency.

Ali Shamkani, Iran’s coordinator for political, military and security actions with Russia and Syria, stated that an invitation has not been sent to the US. Shamkhani pointed out that there was no reason for the U.S. to participate in the talks, adding that the host country could invite the U.S. as an observer.

Iranian Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Behram Gasemi stated that the current arrangement of three countries should be preserved and that expanding the arrangement could increase risks. Gasemi said meetings with Russia and Turkey on the level of participation continues, and refuted the claims that Iran and Russia have disagreements over the participation of the U.S. Russia had recently announced that it would be right to invite the new Trump administration of the U.S. to Astana talks.

Astana talks are scheduled to begin on Monday. According to Moscow, the talks aim to consolidate the ceasefire between the Syrian regime and the groups supported by foreign powers. Last week, the 30 rebel groups that met in Ankara agreed to participate in the talks. These groups are supported by Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and several western powers, and have committed serious war crimes and crimes against humanity so far. Kurds have not been invited to the talks. The organizers of the talks and the quality of the invited parties raised debates on the legitimacy of the talks.

United Nations’ special envoy Staffan de Mistura will not be participating in the talks but will be represented in Astana. With its current situation, the talks are not expected to provide a conclusion for a peaceful and democratic resolution of the crisis in Syria.