Syria, Iran discuss military links
Iranian defense minister tells his Syrian counterpart his nation 'offers all of its defense capabilities to Damacus.' According to Lebanese newspaper al-Nahar, Iranian minister also spoke of 'cooperation in military development and improvement of Syrian defense capabilities'
Syrian President Bashar Assad met Iranian Defense Minister Mostafa Najjar on Sunday to discuss military links between the two countries, the official Syrian news agency said.
Najjar is the latest high level Iranian official to visit Syria, which has been reinforcing ties with Tehran as the two countries come under pressure from the United States.
"The meeting between the president and a delegation headed by Najjar discussed the cooperation between the Syrian Arab Army and the Iranian army and ways to strengthen friendship between
the two sides," the SANA agency said.
In a meeting with his Syrian counterpart General Hassan Tourkmani, Najjar said that his nation "offers all of its defense capabilities to Syria."
According to Lebanese newspaper al-Nahar, the Iranian minister also spoke of "cooperation in military development and improvement of Syrian defense capabilities."
Syrian president (R) with Iranian defense minister (Photo: AFP)
The two countries support the Lebanese movement Hizbullah and the Palestinian group Hamas and have links to a number of players in Iraq.
Western diplomats in Damascus say Syria has been improving its arsenal, especially after last year's war between Hizbullah and Israel. Iran has been upgrading its military capability, with the United States not ruling out the use of force to stop its nuclear program.
Iran and Syria, which are under US sanctions, attended a conference in Baghdad along with the United States on Saturday to discuss stopping violence in Iraq.
Iranian Vice President Parviz Davoudi was in Damascus last week and Syrian Prime Minister Naji al-Otari is due to visit Tehran in a few days.
Roee Nahmias contributed to the report
