Iran welcomes Syria deal, urges political solution

Iran, a close ally and military backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, welcomed a U.S.-Russian deal for a truce in Syria, saying on Sunday the conflict should be ended through politics. "Iran supports any ceasefire and peace plan to end the humanitarian crisis in Syria or limit it that involves a political solution ... based on the Syrian people's votes," said Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari, quoted by the state news agency IRNA. "Iran has always believed that there is