In other Syria news, armed rebel groups are refusing to attend the upcoming peace summit in Geneva. In a joint statement, 19 opposition factions said negotiating with the regime of Bashar al-Assad would amount to an act of “treason.” The U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, is visiting Damascus today in a bid to drum up support for the Geneva talks. In an interview ahead of his trip, Brahimi called for the inclusion of Iran in negotiations.

Lakhdar Brahimi: “The U.N. secretary-general, as well as the Arab League secretary-general and also me, we all believe that the participation of Iran in the Geneva conference is natural and is necessary, as well as fruitful. So we are hopeful that this invitation is made to Iran.”