Kofi Annan Meets With Iranian Officials on Syria Peace Plan TEHRAN - Kofi Annan, the envoy of the United Nations and the Arab League on Syria, met with senior Iranian officials on Tuesday to seek their cooperation in trying to rescue his foundering peace plan. The trip highlighted a growing difference in international approaches to the Syrian crisis, with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday saying that President Bashar al-Assad's "days are numbered," as Mr. Annan reached out to Mr. Assad and his regional partner Iran to try to find a compromise. "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," Mr. Annan said at a news conference with Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi. Mr. Annan, who arrived on Monday after meeting with Mr. Assad in Damascus, said that he could only speak for himself. The United States and the European Union have objected to allowing Iran, a staunch ally of Mr. Assad, to play a role in resolving Syria's 16-month conflict. Iranian officials have been stressing that elections in 2014 will give the Syrians a chance to elect a new leader through a democratic process, although it is unclear whether the Syrian opposition would be allowed to participate. Mr. Salehi repeated Mr. Annan's words, saying they proved that Iran was "clearly not a part of the problem" in Syria. He said that the Syrians have a "right to free elections," and that all outside interference in the country was making the situation "much more complicated." "We should not worsen the crisis," said Mr. Salehi, a fluent English speaker who studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. God forbid, one wrong measure, one wrong decision can have catastrophic consequences for the region and the whole world.