High-level Syrian gov’t delegation heads to Iran for important meeting

The Syrian Prime Minister, Imad Khamis made a trip to Tehran with several high-level government officials on Sunday to meet with their Iranian counterparts.

“Today, a high-level government delegation headed by Prime Minister Imad Khamis, began a trip to the Iranian capital, Tehran, during which they will discuss with senior officials there the current bilateral relations between the two countries and work to strengthen them at all levels, as well as accelerating developments in the regional and international arenas,” Al-Watan reported, quoting a diplomatic source.

The Al-Watan source said that consultation and coordination between the two countries at this stage is necessary because after the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, the two allies need to strengthen their alliance.

The newspaper added that the delegation will include in the foreign and defense ministers.

On Friday, January 2nd, the U.S. military carried out an attack near the Baghdad International Airport, resulting in the assassination of the Quds Force commander, Major-General Qassem Soleimani, and the Deputy Commander of the Popular Mobilization Units, Abu Mahdi Al-Mohandes.

Iran responded to these assassinations by targeting the U.S. military’s positions at two bases inside of Iraq. The attack primarily targeted the ‘Ayn Al-Assad Airbase, which hosts the second largest U.S. military contingetn in Iraq.