Iran’s President Raisi meets Assad in Syria, first such visit in 13 years
The two countries are expected to sign several economic agreements in a show of friendship.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi arrived in Syria on Wednesday on a rare two-day visit, where he held talks with country’s President Bashar al-Assad. The meeting comes at a crucial time in Iran-Syria relations amid Damascus’ reintegration into the Arab world and following the Saudi-Iranian rapprochement in March.
Raisi’s visit was scheduled earlier in the year, but reportedly got delayed for logistical reasons. He is the first Iranian president to visit Damascus since 2010 when his predecessor Mahmoud Ahmedenijad went to Damascus and met Assad alongside Hezbollah’s secretary general Hassan Nasrallah. In 2011, Syria descended into conflict after Assad’s crackdown on the uprising, and the Iranian militant presence expanded in the country, provoking routine attacks from Israel inside Syria, including this Monday in Aleppo.
Assad welcomed Raisi to Syria with an official ceremony at the presidential palace in Damascus, but did not receive him at the airport. The two discussed bilateral relations as well as developments in the Middle East. The Iranian delegation included several defense, energy, finance and construction officials, according to Syria’s official SANA news agency.
Iran has been a strong supporter of the Syrian government for decades and a number of important regional developments are occurring at the time of Raisi’s trip.
Normalization between Syria and Arab states is rapidly gaining momentum. On Monday, Jordan hosted the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq and Syria itself to discuss Syria’s return to the Arab League. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan visited Syria in April.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and Iran’s bilateral relations are improving following their agreement to reopen embassies, brokered by China in March.
It is unclear if Assad will be invited to the Arab League summit that Saudi Arabia is hosting on May 19, but Tehran has been advocating for Syria’s return to the 22-member organization since its ouster in 2011.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian visited Lebanon last week. He met with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and toured the border with Israel.
al-monitor
