What was supposed to be one of the biggest diplomatic coups of Ban Ki-moon's two terms as United Nations Secretary-General was nearly his worst disaster.
A year in the making, an international peace conference aimed at ending Syria's civil war, which has killed well over 100,000 people, was almost undone in less than 24 hours by Ban.
With prospects of the so-called Geneva-2 talks bringing peace to Syria appearing dim, on Sunday Ban invited the most controversial potential participant - Iran, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's staunch ally and military supplier.
A chaotic day later, with talks on the edge of collapse, before they had even begun, Ban rescinded the invitation.
Diplomats say the U.N. chief believed he had a commitment from Iran to agree to the West's terms for talks - but he didn't. The diplomats are still debating whether Ban misunderstood Iran or was misled, and why he made the hasty invitation in the face of clear scepticism from Washington.
