Iranian FM tours Syria, Turkey, amid mounting US pressures

Tabnak – In a sign of willingness to extend their cooperation to the post-Syrian War period, Iran and Syria highlighted their shared positions on many regional and international issues. This happened during a formal visit of the Iranian foreign minister to Damascus to meet high-ranking Syrian officials.

Heading a high-ranking diplomatic delegation, Zarif arrived in Damascus Tuesday morning for meetings with top Syrian officials, including his counterpart Walid Muallem and also President Bashar al-Assad.

Speaking to reporters upon his arrival in Damascus on Tuesday, Zarif said he has made the visit to hold consolations with Syrian officials about the latest regional and international issues.

He further said his trip also aims to pursue the implementation of the recent agreements reached between the presidents of the two countries. The Iranian top diplomat went on to say that after the visit to Syria, he would travel to Turkey with the same objectives.

During his meeting with President Bashar al-Assad later on the day, the Syrian leader censured the US for blacklisting Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), which has been greatly contributing to his country’s fight against terrorists.

Assad also said the recent designation of the IRGC as “foreign terrorist organization” was yet another “wrong” move by Washington aimed at further destabilizing the region.

During the meeting, the two sides emphasized that the hostile policies of the US and certain Arab countries cannot prevent Iran and Syria from defending the rights of their nations, the statement added.

Assad and Zarif further urged the US and its Western allies to stop waging wars and using economic terrorisms against other states who refuse to do their bidding and return, instead, to diplomatic means in dealing with them.

For his part, Zarif censured Washington for recognizing the occupied side of Syria’s Golan Heights as Israeli territory, saying the measure showed the defeat of the American agenda for the region.

Zarif said he and the Syrian president explored ways to promote bilateral ties. The two sides also discussed the Astana peace process for Syria and the progress in the bilateral deals signed during Assad’s trip to Iran in February, he added.

Prior to his meeting with Assad, Zarif sat down for talks with his Syrian counterpart, Walid al-Muallem. In that meeting, Zarif praised the Syrian people for saving the region from a major threat.

He also noted that Iran is delighted to have supported the Syrian and Iraqi nations in their victory against terrorism and protecting the region from the threat of terrorism. For his part, Muallem underscored that Syria and Iran are in a single front.

The top Iranian diplomat is going to visit Turkey afterwards. The two-day tour of Syria and Turkey is aimed at the coordination of policies on the regional and international developments in order to ensure peace and stability in the region.

In this vein, the Iranian ambassador to Ankara highlighted the importance of Zarif’s upcoming visit to Turkey and said the two sides are resolved to cement relations in all areas.

“During a two-day trip to Ankara which would start today, Dr. Zarif would hold talks and consultations with the officials of the friendly country, Turkey about bilateral relations and ways to strengthen them, as well as sensitive regional and international issues,” Mohammad Farazmand said on his Twitter account on Tuesday afternoon.

“The two important Islamic countries have strong wills to strengthen friendship bonds,” he added in his tweet.