President Raeisi Declares Syria Visit a Significant Moment for Strengthening Bilateral Relations

Raeisi expressed the paramount importance of his two-day trip to Syria to both countries and the region upon his return to Tehran’s Mehrabad airport on Friday. This is due to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s 12-year-long support for Syria-based resistance groups and the Syrian nation and government’s steadfastness against conspiracies and seditious plots by their enemies.

President Raeisi stated that Iran and Syria have ample opportunities and grounds for collaboration to enhance economic relations, emphasizing that the main topics of discussion in his meetings with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were financial and trade matters.

14 cooperation documents were signed between Iran and Iraq, which included the following topics: cooperating in the area of power generation and transmission, establishing a joint bank and an insurance company, reducing trade tariffs between the two countries, increasing transit facilities between Iran, Iraq, and Syria, and reviving Syria’s agricultural, industrial and energy sectors.

At the conclusion of Iranian President Hassan Raeisi’s two-day official trip to Syria, which commenced on Wednesday and was the first of its kind in over a decade, a final communiqué was issued expressing satisfaction with the joint efforts of the two countries in their battle against terrorism and extremism. The statement highlighted their shared resolve to keep collaborating until all terrorist organizations in Syria are completely eradicated.

Raeisi and Assad discussed ways to enhance friendly and strategic ties between Tehran and Damascus, and shared their opinions on recent regional and global occurrences.

The two presidents emphasized the necessity to observe each other’s sovereignty, freedom, and boundaries in line with the aims and regulations of the United Nations Charter.

The two countries emphasized the significance of strengthening their relationship by continuing political, economic, and consular exchanges, as well as by sending high-level delegations between them.

Both sides expressed their preparedness and eagerness to implement suitable actions to further enhance bilateral commercial and economic ties through already existing systems, such as the Joint High Commission for Economic Cooperation. They highlighted the potential areas of collaboration in Syria’s post-war period of reconstruction and advancement.

Raeisi and Assad expressed the strongest condemnation of the frequent Israeli air strikes in various places in Syria, calling them a destabilizing factor in the Middle East and highlighting Syria’s legitimate right to respond to such acts of aggression appropriately.

The international community has expressed its vehement opposition to the Israeli occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights and the Tel Aviv regime’s decision to annex the strategic plateau, which is a clear violation of international law.

Both sides strongly denounced the US government’s choice to acknowledge Israeli rule of the area that has been occupied by Israeli military forces since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.

Raeisi and Assad denounced the existence of foreign occupation forces in Syria as “illegitimate” and demanded that these deployments cease.

The speakers underscored the importance of the Syrian government in restoring its authority throughout the country and strongly condemned the United States’ ongoing exploitation of Syrian oil and other natural resources.

The presidents called for an immediate and decisive action from the international community to put an end to these activities.

Both sides strongly denounced the unilateral and unlawful sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union on Iran and Syria, stating that such coercive measures violate international laws and humanitarian principles.

They emphatically emphasized that the sanctions have an adverse impact on innocent people and are inhumane, and urged an immediate cessation of such measures.

Raeisi affirmed that Iran will remain a steadfast ally of Syria in rebuilding areas destroyed by earthquakes and lamented the inhumane and unjust sanctions imposed by the West on Syria.

Both parties underscored the urgency of lifting the blockade of Syria as soon as possible to acquire international relief and aid for the reconstruction of areas affected by the earthquake.

Raeisi and Assad welcomed the recent reconciliation between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which was facilitated by China, calling it an essential move towards the stabilization of the Middle East.