[CCIP]

I'm still surprised that Iran's role in those conflicts comes to people as a surprise. It's probably worth pointing out that Iran was involved in Syria and Iraq from the start, on the side of what the West would condisder "good guys" today - they've fought against both Al Quaeda and ex-Baathist militias in Iraq, against both Assad and ISIS' predecessors in Syria. In all truth, they've probably had a much bigger role in this than the US for the past few years. Iran are in fact very active throughout the region, because the biggest check on their power - Saddam - is gone. They've been actively exploring possibilities ever since.

There are three things Iran is not interested in: 1) chaos and anarchy on their borders and in the "near abroad"; 2) Sunni extremists on their borders; 3) Sunni monarchies or Baathist socialist regimes (both their arch-nemeses - despite all the propaganda, Israel takes only a distant 3rd) stepping in to fill the void created by that chaos. They can't afford not to be involved. So you bet they'll be active - it's a national security concern to them in a far more immediate way than it would ever be to the US or Europe. It's easy to focus on Iran's relationship with the US or Israel and see them as a rogue state and an unstable entity, but in the region right now, they're probably the most effective stabilizing force. It's unfortunate to have to admit that, but relatively speaking, Iran are very much the "good guys" in that particular conflict, at least from a US/EU perspective. Which is probably another reason that Obama & Rice & co. are so keen to keep them at the negotiating table.