Special to WorldTribune.com

Iran has confirmed it will join the United States, Russia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia in talks over Syria’s future.

The five parties, all heavily invested in the outcome of the war and the future of Syrian President Bashar Assad, will meet on Oct. 30 in Vienna. Egypt and Iraq will also attend.

Teheran has provided Assad’s forces with funding, training and now direct support on the ground from Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) troops.

Iran and Russia continue to back Assad and insist he is Syria’s only legitimate ruler. The U.S., Turkey and Saudi Arabia all seek Assad’s removal from power.

Russia escalated its air campaign this week, including launching 118 strikes on targets in Syria in one 24-hour period. Moscow continues to claim it is primarily targeting Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), but U.S. intelligence officials say most of the targets have not even been inside ISIL-controlled territory.

Earlier this week, the Pentagon said it was considering “direct action on the ground” in both Syria and Iraq, which may include increased special operations missions in Syria and the addition of Apache combat helicopters in Iraq.

“We won’t hold back from supporting capable partners in opportunistic attacks against ISIL or conducting such missions directly, whether by strikes from the air or direct action on the ground,” U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said in testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee on Oct. 27.

  Ashton Carter, Bashar Assad, Iran accepts invitation to join Syia talks, ISIL, WorldTribune.com