Syria’s Assad calls for stronger ties during state visit to Iran
08 May 2022 - 21:42
byParisa Hafezi
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Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi meets with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Tehran, Iran, May 8 2022. Picture: OFFICIAL PRESIDENTIAL WEBSITE/REUTERS
Dubai — Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visited his closest regional ally Iran on Sunday for talks with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during which both leaders called for stronger ties between Tehran and Damascus, Iranian state media reported.
Assad, who was making his second trip to Tehran since the start of Syria’s war in 2011, also met Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during his trip, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported.
“Today’s Syria is not what it was before the war, though there were no destructions then, but the respect and prestige of Syria is greater than before, and everyone sees this country as a power,” Khamenei told Assad, according to Iran’s state TV.
Assad was able to turn the tide of Syria’s civil war, which erupted from pro-democracy protests in 2011, with crucial help from Iran’s proxy militias and Russia’s major military intervention in 2015.
Iranian State TV quoted Assad as saying that “the strategic ties between Iran and Syria has prevented the Zionist regime’s (Israel) dominance in the region”. Iran’s Nournews said Assad had left Tehran for Syria.
Israel, which the Islamic Republic refuses to recognise, has mounted attacks against what it has described as Iranian targets in Syria, where Tehran-backed forces including Lebanon’s Hezbollah have deployed over the past decade to support Assad in Syria’s war.
Raisi said in meeting with Assad that his government’s priority was to strengthen strategic ties with Syria, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
Iran’s economic influence in Syria has grown in recent years, supplying Assad’s government with credit lines and winning lucrative business contracts.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Syria’s Assad calls for stronger ties during state visit to Iran
Dubai — Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visited his closest regional ally Iran on Sunday for talks with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during which both leaders called for stronger ties between Tehran and Damascus, Iranian state media reported.
Assad, who was making his second trip to Tehran since the start of Syria’s war in 2011, also met Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during his trip, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported.
“Today’s Syria is not what it was before the war, though there were no destructions then, but the respect and prestige of Syria is greater than before, and everyone sees this country as a power,” Khamenei told Assad, according to Iran’s state TV.
Assad was able to turn the tide of Syria’s civil war, which erupted from pro-democracy protests in 2011, with crucial help from Iran’s proxy militias and Russia’s major military intervention in 2015.
Iranian State TV quoted Assad as saying that “the strategic ties between Iran and Syria has prevented the Zionist regime’s (Israel) dominance in the region”. Iran’s Nournews said Assad had left Tehran for Syria.
Israel, which the Islamic Republic refuses to recognise, has mounted attacks against what it has described as Iranian targets in Syria, where Tehran-backed forces including Lebanon’s Hezbollah have deployed over the past decade to support Assad in Syria’s war.
Raisi said in meeting with Assad that his government’s priority was to strengthen strategic ties with Syria, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
Iran’s economic influence in Syria has grown in recent years, supplying Assad’s government with credit lines and winning lucrative business contracts.
Reuters
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