Hollande and Iran's Rouhani discuss Syria by phone

French President Francois Hollande and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani discussed the war in Syria by telephone today, in the wake of a devastating attack on Paris by Islamic State jihadists.

The two leaders highlighted the importance of the Vienna process to end the nearly five-year war, after global diplomats on Saturday agreed on a fixed calendar for Syria to move towards elections in 18 months.