A Shift in US Strategy? Iran Joins Syria ISIS Talks

First came the nuclear deal with Iran. Now the Islamic Republic has been asked to help end the civil war in Syria.

Some say the invitation to participate in peace talks, along with stepped-up military tactics against ISIS, signals a changing U.S. strategy for the Middle East.

The shift became apparent Tuesday, when State Department spokesman John Kirby announced that Iran is being invited to attend Syrian peace talks in Vienna.

"At some point in the discussion, moving toward a political transition, we have to have a conversation and a dialogue with Iran," Kirby said.

While Iran said it will attend the peace talks, Kirby made it clear the United States did not invite the Islamic Republic, and the country is not a partner, but a stakeholder in Syria.

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said U.S. troops will now be more involved in actual combat against ISIS, like the recent rescue operation in Iraq when Special Forces joined with Kurdish Peshmerga troops.

"We won't hold back supporting capable partners in opportunistic attacks against ISIL," or in conducting attacks directly from the air or on the ground, Carter said.

The goal for now is to recapture Iraq's Anbar province and seize the ISIS-controlled capital city of Raqqa in Syria.

There is also growing recognition that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad -- now with active Russian combat help -- will remain in power. The French are reportedly considering reopening their embassy in Damascus, which closed in 2012.

The question on many people's minds is does this signal a shift in Syrian policy or a collapse?

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., says Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah are acting to ensure Assad remains in power, and the Obama administration is doing nothing to stop it.

"He is secure as the day is long," Graham said. "So this is what's happened folks. This strategy has completely fallen apart."

Meanwhile, ISIS continues to spread and unleash terror around the Islamic world. Afghanistan's national security adviser warns that Islamic State terrorists have become a serious threat in his country.

In addition, reports coming from the Middle East say Turkey and several Gulf States have transported 500 ISIS jihadists from Syria to Yemen to fight in the civil war there. Turkey also tackled ISIS head-on, launching raids that killed seven suspected ISIS fighters and captured 30 others.

The stepped-up fighting has caused more civilians to flee.

Meanwhile, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Gute suggests the world is at the breaking point in handling the largest displacement of people since World War II.

He said the United States, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and others must work together to end the war in Syria.

"The question to me is, are the parties that are relevant to this conflict already convinced that the risks that they all face are so big that they are more important than the differences among them or not?" Gute asked. "My sincere belief is that it is a suicide to let this war go on."