Orient Net, Astana, May 5, 2017 – The US State Department expressed concern about Iran’s role after Turkey, Russia and Iran signed a memorandum on four “de-escalation” zones during the fourth round of talks held in the Kazakh capital Astana on Thursday (May 4).

The US State Department said it welcomed signing the memorandum but expressed concern about Iran’s role.

“We continue to have concerns about the Astana agreement, including the involvement of Iran as a so-called ‘guarantor’,” AP quoted the State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert as saying.

Nauert added that the US expects the Assad regime to stop attacks on civilians in opposition-controlled areas, stressing that the Assad regime has failed to do that in the past.

Nauert also said that the US-backed Syrian opposition must live up to its commitments.

The US was represented at the talks in Kazakhstan. But Nauert says the US was not a “direct participant” and isn’t a party to the agreement.

The three guarantor countries, Russia, Turkey and Iran agreed to set up the four “de-escalation” zones by June 4.

They agreed to form “de-escalation zones in Idlib, Homs northern countryside, eastern Ghouta and Syria’s southern regions with the aim of putting an immediate end to the violence, improving the humanitarian situation and creating favorable conditions to advance the political settlement in Syria,” Russia Today reported.

However, the Syrian opposition delegation expressed its reservations on the proposal for having Iran as a guarantor.

Iran has bolstered Assad regime on the ground through providing military “advisers” and Shiite mercenaries from Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and Lebanon, to help the Assad regime terrorize Syrian civilians and force them to leave their homes in an attempt to demographically change the population of Syria.