Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister has visited Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad, days after Russian-Iranian consultations in Tehran.
Hossein Jaberi Ansari spend a second day in Damascus on Thursday, also seeing Prime Minister Imad Khamis, Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, and Deputy Foreign MInister Feisal al-Mikdad.
No details were offered, with Jaberi Ansari expressing “support for the Syrian nation in all areas, including anti-terror battles, until the restoration of peace to the country”.
According to the Syrian State news agency SANA, Assad proclaimed “continuous and accelerating victories that have been achieved lately in the course of the war against terrorism”.
Last week the Secretary of Iran’s National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, hosted Russia’s envoy for Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev. Again no clues were offered about the discussions in media reports, but Tehran has expressed concern over the possibility of a de facto partition of Syria in the Russian-led initiatives for “de-escalation zones” across the country.
Iran is also wary of the US-Russian declaration of a ceasefire in southwest Syria on July 9, a step which could limit the maneuvers of Iranian-supported forces near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Meanwhile, reports to the increasing dependence of the Assad regime on Iranian finance and projects for its survival, with Tehran claiming mineral resources and building up its presence in areas such as southern Damascus.
