IRAN: Syria's President Assad meets with Iranian President Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Khamenei in Tehran

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad arrived in Iran, Syria's closest ally in the region, on Saturday (February 17, 2007), for a two-day visit. It was Assad's second trip to Tehran since Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took office in 2005. In a joint meeting with President Ahmadinejad, the Syrian President told reporters his visit was among the most fruitful between the two countries to date. "This is one of the most successful visits between the Syrian and Iranian sides over the past few years. Implementation points have been formulated for the content of the (joint) statement, so that they can be worked on over the next months, or at least the rest of this year, 2007," said Assad. Assad said the United States wanted to create divisions among Muslim nations in the region. "They (U.S.) want to weaken Muslim nations and regional governments' resistance to America," state television quoted Assad as saying during his three way meeting with both Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ayatollah ali Khamenei. Visiting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad also renewed his country's support for Iran's nuclear activities. State television said that in a joint Iranian-Syrian statement, "Syria expressed its support for Iran's peaceful nuclear programme". Iran will not agree to suspend uranium enrichment as demanded by the UN Security Council, which has given Tehran until February 21 to halt sensitive atomic work, the Foreign Ministry said on Sunday (February 18). The United Nations slapped sanctions on Iran in December, barring the transfer of sensitive materials and know-how to the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme. It threatened further action if Iran did not heed UN demands. ENDS

ITN Source | February 18, 2007

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