Iran is criticizing the UN chief for rescinding his invitation to Teheran to attend the Syria peace talks in Geneva, calling the diplomatic about-face "deplorable".

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said on Tuesday that Ban Ki-moon's decision to withdraw his last-minute offer to Iran to attend the conference shows that the UN chief came "under some pressure".

"From our point of view, the withdrawal is deplorable," she said.

Afkham says that Iran expects Ban to explain the "real reasons" for withdrawing the invitation.

The invitation extended by Ban on Sunday put the talks in jeopardy, with the Syrian opposition threatening to boycott the gathering and the US pushing for the rescinding of the offer to Iran, Syria's main regional ally.

AP

(China Daily 01/22/2014 page11)