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EU’s top diplomat Mogherini meets President Rouhani in Tehran, focus on Syria conflict

The European Union’s Foreign Policy Chief, Federica Mogherini, held a meeting with President Hassan Rouhani in Tehran, regarding regional challenges. Iran’s state news agency IRNA said the meeting focused on the ongoing conflict in Syria, where Iran is a close ally and military backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad.  The EU last week called for an immediate ceasefire in rebel-held east Aleppo, where Syrian government forces, together with their allies, backed by Russian air support, have imposed a siege. Meanwhile, rebels have launched an offensive against the Syrian government alliance over the weekend, to try and break the siege, attacking the outer skirts of Western Aleppo.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the rebel shelling killed some 15 civilians and wounded more than 100. Rebels said they had taken several positions from government forces and the Observatory said they had gained control over a checkpoint at a factory in southwest Aleppo and some other points nearby. The rebels include members of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, an affiliate of al Qaeda previously known as the Nusra Front, and groups fighting under the Western-backed Free-Syrian-Army-banner. In response to the rebel advance, the Russian Defense Ministry said its General Staff had asked President Vladimir Putin for permission to resume air strikes against militants in Syria’s eastern Aleppo after more than 10 days of a self-imposed ceasefire.

“As killing of the civilian population continues and militants restarted intensive military activity against the government army, we have addressed the Supreme Commander of the Russian armed forces (President Vladimir Putin) asking for consent to resume air strikes against the illegal militant formations in eastern Aleppo,” said Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy, Russian General Staff MOC Chief Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, rejected the request by his General staff, stressing it was unnecessary to resume strikes as-of-yet.