EU's Mogherini in Tehran for Talks on Syria

Heading a delegation, Mogherini arrived in the Iranian capital late on Friday evening to hold talks with the countries' senior officials about the crisis in Syria.

She is scheduled to begin her meetings and consultations with the officials on Saturday.

The diplomatic chief will later head to Riyadh on Monday to continue the EU's "outreach to key actors in the region on the Syrian crisis", a statement said on Friday, according to AFP.

Mogherini’s trip to Tehran comes after Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif participated in a day-long three-way meeting between him and his Russian and Syrian counterparts, Sergei Lavrov and Walid al-Muallem respectively, in Moscow on Friday on the latest developments in Syria.

Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with various terrorist groups, including Daesh (ISIL), currently controlling parts of it.

According to a report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people, injured 1.9 million others, and displaced nearly half of the country’s pre-war population of about 23 million within or beyond its borders.

In the meantime, Iran and Russia have remained close allies of Syria and support its legitimate government in the face of foreign-backed militancy.