Reuters reports: New U.N.-Arab League envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi will visit Iran, a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, after a fact-finding trip to Syria itself, an official in the Iranian foreign ministry was quoted as saying on Sunday.

Brahimi, a veteran Algerian diplomat, succeeded Kofi Annan as envoy this month and has said he would talk to Iran as he tries to push forward with his difficult quest to end the 17-month-old conflict in Syria.

He is expected to visit Syria soon though no date has yet been announced. His representatives could not be reached on Sunday to confirm or deny the Iranian report.