UNITED NATIONS -- The U.S. took steps Saturday to open a dialogue with Iran and others about the crises in Syria and Yemen.
Secretary of State John Kerry met with Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, and told reporters there would be discussions in the week ahead that could prove critical to resolving the conflicts.
"I view this week as a major opportunity for any number of countries to play an important role in trying to resolve some of the very difficult issues [of] the Middle East," Kerry said. "We need to achieve peace and a way forward in Syria, in Yemen ... in the region itself [and] I think there are opportunities this week, through these discussions, to make some progress."
Kerry and Zarif held their first face-to-face meeting since they sealed a nuclear agreement in Vienna in July. Kerry raised concerns about the instability in Syria and Yemen, and the fate of Americans detained by or missing in Iran, his spokesman said.
Zarif said his primary focus would be the implementation of a deal that curbs Iran's nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions. He also said Iran was willing to discuss regional issues, including the deadly stampede at the hajj in Saudi Arabia, in the appropriate forum.
"The situation in the region, the unfortunate developments in Saudi Arabia over the last week, have been disastrous and we need to address them. We will address them in the proper international forum," Zarif said.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, urged him to "contribute to a political settlement of the crises in the region," and singled out Syria and Yemen.
Rouhani said Iran can contribute in the fight against terrorism, especially against the Islamic State, whose behavior he described as "inhuman, subhuman." Iran already has been helpful in Iraq, he said, asserting that Baghdad and the Kurdish regional capital, Irbil, would have fallen to the Islamic State without Iranian assistance.
"The nuclear issue is a big test within the framework of issues" between the United States and Iran, he said. If there is success in implementing the agreement, "then perhaps we can build on that."
On Friday, the U.S.' top Iran negotiator, Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman, said discussing Syria with Iranian officials would "make sense" in the context of current developments.
But she noted resistance to the idea within Iran, which, along with Russia, is a main supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad. She said the subject of Syria had been raised informally on the sidelines of the nuclear negotiations that ended in July, though never in a structured way.
The U.S. has called, without success, for Iran and Russia to stop backing Assad. In recent weeks, Russia has built up its military presence in Syria. That issue was to be a central topic of discussion in Kerry's meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov today in New York, a day before President Barack Obama's talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
U.S. officials say they are not certain about Russia's motives for the military buildup, but have said they would welcome a positive contribution to the fight against the Islamic State group that does not bolster Assad. The administration had insisted that Assad must leave power because he has no credibility to run the country. Over the past several days, however, officials, including Kerry, have signaled that Assad could perhaps be a part of some kind of political transition that would lead to the formation of a new government.
Sherman, who is stepping down from her post next month, echoed that, saying it may be possible for Assad to have a role in a transition.
Kerry didn't discuss Russia's decision to send more troops and military hardware to Syria. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Syria will be the dominant issue Monday when Putin and Obama meet.
Four years after Obama said Assad should step down, Putin's moves are prompting the administration to consider ending an 18-month freeze in military-to-military talks with Russia to avoid accidental confrontations with U.S. aircraft already conducting attacks inside Syria, State Department spokesman John Kirby said Monday.
The conflict in Syria has helped push hundreds of thousands of refugees toward the 28-nation European Union, prompting German Chancellor Angela Merkel to say Assad should be included in any solution to the civil war -- a change from an earlier insistence that Assad go.
A breakthrough in talks over Syria would offer a chance of ending a war that has killed at least 250,000 people.
Pope Francis, speaking Friday at the U.N., decried the "painful situation" in the Middle East and North Africa, saying people of different faiths "who have no desire to be caught up in hatred and folly, have been forced to witness the destruction of their places of worship. These realities should serve as a grave summons to an examination of conscience on the part of those charged with the conduct of international affairs."
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Saturday stressed the need to start negotiations to bring about a political transition and reunify Syria. He remained vague on whether that should involve Assad in the near term and instead said that "Assad can't be part of Syria's eternal future."
"The future of Syria can't be assured by those responsible for 80 percent of the deaths," Fabius said. "If we were to say to the Syrians that the future lies with Assad, then we will expose ourselves to failure."
In Yemen, the fighting involves rebels, known as Houthis, and forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh against the Saudi-backed and internationally recognized government forces as well as southern separatists, militias and Sunni extremists.
The war escalated in March when the Saudi-led coalition began a military campaign involving airstrikes and ground troops against the Houthis and their allies. More than 2,100 civilians have been killed, according to U.N. estimates. The coalition recently has sought to retake the rebel-held capital, Sanaa, captured last September by the rebels.
Detainees
On Friday, Rouhani urged "quicker" efforts to free citizens held in both Iran and the United States, offering potential new signals on the fate of a Washington Post journalist and other Americans in Iranian hands.
His comments followed earlier suggestions from Iranian officials about the prospect of prisoner exchanges.
Rouhani told journalists he doesn't "want to talk about the word 'exchange' " but said he could explore channels to "move the legal files forward" in Iran with an aim of the joint release of those detained in both countries.
"It is important to me to find a way, if there is a way, to set them free quicker," Rouhani said. "I wish to set as many people free as possible."
Although Rouhani has limited sway over Iran's judiciary -- which is controlled by the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei -- he said he could use unspecified leverage such as "suggestions and various legal actions."
The Washington Post's Tehran correspondent, Jason Rezaian, has been detained since July 2014 and was tried this year on charges including espionage. He is awaiting a verdict from Tehran's Revolutionary Court.
At least two other Americans are held in Iran: Saeed Abedini, a Christian pastor imprisoned for conducting Bible studies; and Amir Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine accused of spying. Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent, disappeared in Iran in 2007, but his whereabouts are unclear.
Rezaian, 39, who has dual Iranian and U.S. citizenship, has denied the charges against him. His case has drawn appeals for his release by senior U.S. officials, media freedom groups and The Post.
Information for this article was contributed by Nicole Gaouette and Sangwon Yoon of Bloomberg News and Martin Baron of The Washington Post.
A Section on 09/27/2015