Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi arrived today in Damascus on a two-day official visit to Syria, accompanied by a ministerial political and economic delegation.
President Raisi is scheduled to hold expanded political and economic talks with President Bashar al-Assad, followed by signing several agreements.
The visit is hailed by the Syrian state media as “historic” and Syrian analysts close to Damascus say the visit followed the “strategic victory” over the US-led regime change war in Syria.
Prof. Mohammad Marandi joined Kevork Almassian from Damascus to discuss the important visit
Al-Assad: Syrian-Iranian Relations Have Remained Stable Despite Political Storms
During the plenary talks with the Iranian President, President al-Assad said “The Syrian-Iranian relations are rich in content, rich in experiences and rich in the insights that constituted them, and therefore, these relations were, during hard times, stable and firm despite of the severe political and security storms which struck the Middle East Region.”.
President al-Assad added that “our ties were established for more than four decades, and the political storms changed concepts, blew up foundations and destroyed entire countries, but they failed to affect the consistent vision that our two countries share about the events that were taking place,”.
Assad said, “The joint vision of the two countries has proven to be based on correct and firm foundations, based on values, principles and beliefs, and most importantly, on the interests of the peoples and on their sovereignty and independence.”.
The President added that “the relations between our two countries are built on loyalty, when an unjust war was waged against Iran in 1980 for eight years, Syria did not hesitate to stand by Iran despite the threats and temptations at that time.
President Al-Assad said that “in the same way, when the war launched against Syria 12 years ago, Iran supported Syria despite the threats, and did not hesitate to provide all political and economic support, but rather offered blood, and the blood is the most precious thing that a person can offer to his neighbour.”
Raisi: The Syrian people overcame difficulties and achieved victory
For his part, Iranian President Raisi said “Syria, Government and People, have gone through large difficulties, and today we can say that you have surpassed all these problems and achieved victory despite the threats and sanctions imposed on you.”.
Raisi expressed his sincere congratulations to the Syrian government and people for these great victories. “The whole world certainly praises this resistance that Syria has shown,” he said.
The president added that “the relations between the government and the people of Syria and between the government and the people of Iran are old and stem from the heart.”.
“We are currently witnessing many political developments and changes in the region and the world, but the relations between the two countries have not and will not be affected by these changes and developments, and I believe that the coming circumstances will also be so, and these relations will not be affected by changes and conditions in the world and the region.” President Raisi said.
Raisi added that “Syrians have certainly had difficult days, but I hope we will witness days full of joy, and success for this country.”.
“The rightness of the status of Iran and Syria and the rationality of this track and that the resistance has brought its fruits, and yesterday some may have been hesitating about the stance and the political position of Iran and Syria, but today everyone believes that this stance and this track is of truth and justice one.” the Iranian president added.
The Iranian president went on to say that “The circumstances were difficult, but in the end, we witnessed that the resistance was proved and it became clear to everyone that the victorious track is the resistance.”.
President Raisi said: “Surrender certainly has costs, and a great price, and certainly its price will be greater than the price of resistance, and some who thought that by surrendering to the enemy would pay a lower price, then it became clear to everyone that this view is wrong.”.
The Iranian president added: “We have always declared that the Islamic Republic of Iran supports the resistance front, and since the victory of the Islamic Revolution, we have declared our support for the resistance fronts, and now we also affirm that we support and stand by the resistance front.”.
His Excellency believes that the current world order has changed and will ultimately be in the interest of the resistance front.
Raisi affirmed that the bilateral ties between Syria and Iran and the communication between their leaderships and peoples are deep-rooted and that they certainly cannot be fractured.
The Iranian President added that Iran is a friend through hardships, thus, has declared support to the peoples of Syria and Iraq during the Takfiri war led by the Takfiri groups against Syria, aiming at changing the regional order as well as the Syrian and Iraqi governments.
“We hope that Syria will achieve peace and prosperity,” the Iranian President said. “Iran was, and still is, standing side by side with Syria, particularly during the period of reconstruction and there is no question that the Syrians themselves are able to clean up the ravages of the war. The world will also witness the Syrians return to their homeland.”.
“I have mercy on the souls of the martyrs of the axis of resistance, and the martyrs of Syria, and I wish health and a speedy recovery for those injured in the war”. The Iranian president concluded his speech by saying.
Presidents al-Assad and Raisi signed a memorandum of understanding for a comprehensive long-term strategic cooperation plan between the two countries.
The agreements signed between Syria and Iran included several memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the agricultural field between the two countries, mutual recognition of maritime certificates, minutes of a meeting for cooperation in the field of railways, minutes of a meeting of civil aviation, a memorandum of understanding in the field of free zones, and a memorandum of understanding between the National Center for the Earthquake. In Syria and the International Institute of Seismic Engineering in Iran, a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of communications and information technology, and a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of oil between the two countries.
President al-Assad and Iranian President Raisi discussed bilateral relations in various fields and the means of developing them.
Talks also dealt with the latest developments in the Middle East region and the reflections of the global changes in the region, and unifying efforts to invest these changes for the benefit of the two countries and the people of the region.
The Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi arrived at Damascus International Airport on Wednesday, accompanied by a large ministerial political and economic delegation.
An official reception ceremony was held for the Iranian President upon his arrival at the People’s Palace, the two national anthems of Syria and Iran were played, and then the two Presidents reviewed the guard of honour, and shook hands with members of the two official delegations.
Source: SANA
Kevork Almassian is an award-winning political commentator from Syria. He is the founder of Syriana Analysis and is known for his contribution to the literature on the Syrian war.