Tehran, Iran – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met with Iran’s supreme leader and president during a surprise visit to Tehran, a key military supporter of the Syrian regime.
Assad met with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi after an unannounced visit to the Iranian capital on Sunday morning and then left for Damascus the same day, according to Nournews, a publication linked to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC). ).
The supreme leader’s website confirmed the meeting. His reading of the rare sitting meeting quoted Khamenei as telling Assad that his “victory in an international war” had boosted confidence in Syria and that Iran wanted to strengthen bilateral ties.
“Today’s Syria is not Syria before the war, although there was no destruction then, but now there is much more respect and trust in Syria and everyone sees it as a force,” Khamenei was quoted as saying.
Khamenei also targeted countries in the region that have normalized ties with Israel or held high-level meetings with its officials, saying that this is while their people are chanting anti-Zionist slogans on Quds Day.
This is the Syrian president’s second trip to Tehran since the start of the Syrian war in 2011. He previously met with Iran’s supreme leader, his largest regional ally, in February 2019.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad meets with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran [Courtesy of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s website]
At the time, Kasem Soleimani, commander-in-chief of the Quds Forces, the foreign operations unit of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), accompanied Assad on his visit.
Soleimani was killed by a US drone attack in Iraq in January 2020 under former President Donald Trump.
Iran’s position on regional issues
During Sunday’s meeting, Iran’s supreme leader also recalled Soleimani, saying his efforts in Syria were no different from those during the eight-year war between Iran and Iraq, which ended in 1988, which Iran considers a period of “sacred defense.”
“This bond and relationship is vital for both sides, and we must not allow it to be weakened, but we must strengthen it as much as possible,” Khamenei said.
Assad was quoted as saying by the supreme leader’s website, telling Khamenei and Raisi that Iran’s position on regional issues, especially Palestine, over the past four decades has shown that “Iran’s path is the right and fundamental path.
“The destruction of the war can be restored, but if the foundations and foundations are destroyed, they cannot be restored,” he said.
Nearly 400,000 people have been killed in Syria’s 11-year war, according to the United Nations. The conflict has left large parts of Syria in ruins and displaced more than half of the country’s population, with millions forced to seek refuge in neighboring countries.
Assad also said some believe Iran is supplying weapons to its so-called “axis of resistance” in the region, but its most important support is supporting the “spirit of resistance” and maintaining it. He added that “strategic” ties between Iran and Syria have become a major factor in preventing Israeli domination of the region.
Iran, along with Russian military support, turned the war in Assad’s favor.
“Strengthening deterrence”
In a separate meeting with Assad, the Iranian president complained that parts of Syrian land were still controlled by foreign forces and said “the occupying forces and their mercenaries must be pushed out.”
Raisi also said that “threats from the Zionist regime in the region must also be addressed by strengthening and diversifying deterrence equations.”
In a separate meeting with Assad, the Iranian president complains that parts of Syrian land are still controlled by foreign forces. [Courtesy Official Presidential website/Handout via Reuters]
He pledged that strengthening ties, especially economic and business relations with Syria, was a top priority for his administration, adding that he was ready to co-operate more on political, security and counter-terrorism issues.
Assad was quoted as saying on the president’s website that the US role in the region is weakening in the face of regional resistance.
“Experience has shown that co-operation between regional states on a number of issues, including Palestine, has been very effective, and Palestinian successes show that compromise on the part of some Arab countries has led to opposite results,” he said.
In March, the Syrian president traveled to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – his first trip to an Arab country since the start of the Syrian war in 2011 – during which he met with Dubai’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Abu Dhabi’s heir to the throne. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan.
The UAE and Bahrain established formal diplomatic relations with Israel in 2020. Several other Arab countries followed suit.
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