Iranian FM Meets Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus

Accompanied by a delegation, Amir-Abdollahian was officially welcomed earlier on Saturday by his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad.

Upon arriving in Damascus, he told journalists that President Assad’s recent visit to Tehran was a turning point in bilateral relations.

President Assad visited Tehran in May, and held talks with Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and President Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi.

“During that trip, we entered a new phase of comprehensive cooperation between the two countries, including in various economic and commercial fields,” he said.

“Today marks a very good opportunity to discuss with my colleague Mr. Faisal Mekdad the latest state of relations between the two countries,” the top Iranian diplomat added.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Amir-Abdollahian said Iran strongly condemns the Israeli regime’s violation of Syria’s territorial integrity.

“Along with the sanctions imposed against the resistant people of Syria, the Zionists seek to destabilize [Syria] and increase the problems of the Syrian people,” he said.

The top diplomat pointed to Israel’s acts of aggression against Syria, including recent missile attacks in Syria’s western port city of Tartus.

“Iran condemns the Zionist aggression targeting southern Tartus this morning,” Amir-Abdollahian stated, adding that Israel tries to portray Damascus as an insecure city in order to obstruct the return of displaced people.

Syria supports Iran in JCPOA talks: Mikdad

For his part, Mikdad underlined the importance of the visit, saying the two countries hold continuous and close consultations about all developments.

He expressed Syria’s support for Iran in the talks to restore the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran deal, which was ditched by the US in 2018.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Syrian FM also said that the situation in Syria calls for more consultations between the two friendly countries, especially Israel’s repeated acts of aggression on Syrian territory, in addition to Tel Aviv’s threats launched against Iran, which aim at weakening the resistance front.