The Associated Press reports: International envoy Kofi Annan said Tuesday that Iran must be “part of the solution” to the bloody crisis in its close ally Syria, and that the Tehran has offered its support to end the conflict.

Annan was in Iran in a bid to salvage his faltering peace plan for the 16-month-old crisis in Syria, which activists say has killed more than 17,000 people. The trip to Tehran comes a day after Annan agreed with Syrian President Bashar Assad on a new framework to stop the violence.

“My presence here proves that I believe Iran can play a positive role and should therefore be a part of the solution in the Syrian crisis,” Annan told reporters in Tehran after meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi.

He said that he has “received encouragement and cooperation” from the Iranian government, he said but did not specify what support Tehran has offered.