“Iran has no troops in Syria, but only advisor[s]. We do not have troops involved in fighting there,” the Swiss paper Neue Zürcher Zeitung quoted Zarif as saying.

Zarif also said the Syrian opposition will fail to unseat President Bashar al-Assad.

He said all sides involved in the Syrian conflict must pursue the objective of ending the ongoing war.

“All should try to end the war and then improve the humanitarian situation. This would prepare the ground for finding a political solution,” Zarif said.

“If this process is not realized, the war will continue for another three years,” warned the Iranian minister.

Syria has been gripped by deadly violence since March 2011. More than 130,000 people have been killed and millions displaced due to the violence fueled by Western-backed militants.

A peace conference, known as Geneva II on Syria aimed at finding a political solution to the crisis in the country kicked off in the Swiss town of Montreux on January 22.

The opposition and its Western supporters insist that President Bashar al-Assad must step down and a transitional government be formed in Syria.

Damascus rejects the demand, arguing that the foreign-backed coalition does not represent the Syrian opposition.

HH/HH