Alwaght- The new Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad traveled to Tehran as his first foreign trip since he was appointed to the post less than a month ago. He met with his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif and other top Iranian officials.
When Walid Muallem died on November 15, President Bashar al-Assad appointed Mekdad to the post.
During a meeting between Mekdad and Zarif, bilateral and regional ties and also joint fight against terrorism were discussed.
Highlighting the wide-range and strategic relations, the two sides expressed their will to strengthen the bilateral and multilateral ties at all levels including trade.
Mekdad, expressing his appreciation of the Iranian support for Syria in the face of foreign-backed terrorism and fundamentalism, pointed to the US's unusual actions in the region that led to escalated tensions. He said that such actions represented the preference of the Israeli interests in the region over those the US.
The Syrian FM also underscored his country’s strong will to continue the anti-terror battle, adding that the cooperation of Damascus and Tehran was crucial and representing a step towards the restoration of peace and stability to the Arab country.
Tehran’s significance for Damascus
Picking Tehran as the destination of the first Mekdad foreign visit as a foreign minister shows that for Syria regional and security bonds with Iran are important more than with any other country.
At the time being, Syria and Iran are two major allies in Damascus fight against terrorist groups. It was with the game-changing Iranian support that the Arab country managed to defeat the foreign-backed militants and restore control of much of the territories that were captured at the beginning of the war.
Now Mekdad visited Tehran even before his trip to Moscow, another staunch ally to Damascus, to display how much Syria banks on the relations with its ally the Islamic Republic.
Syrians trust coalition with the Iranians
In addition to Iran, Syria has other allies like Russia and China with each of which warm relations are important. Despite the warm political ties with Syria, the Russian and Chinese companies have not had considerable and decisive trade and economic presence in the Arab country over the past years. In other words, although the Russians and the Chinese are important political and security allies to Damascus, their companies have not taken steps to boost their business with the allied country. Post-war Syria desperately needs economic infrastructure reconstruction and this means its need for foreign investment is doubled now.
Despite the US sanctions, Iranian companies have expressed readiness to join the reconstruction of Syria after the war. Syria knows well that in the rebuilding period, the most reliable companies and trade partners are the Iranians who will be present in the Syrian market, defying the US sanctions.
Passing the war
The visit to Tehran well demonstrates Damascus is bracing for jumping into the post-war period and dealing with the political process. Syria needs continued Iranian support besides the Russian backing to start its political process. On the other side, despite defeating the terrorists, the Syrian territory Golan Heights remains occupied by the Israeli regime and the Israelis keep taking military actions in the Syrian soil, countered by Syrian air defenses and political reactions.
Currently, one of the key allies of Iran in the face of the Israeli hostility and provocative measures is the Islamic Republic of Iran. As Damascus has had Iran besides its army and political forces in the counter-terrorism war, now it is optimistic that Tehran remains the key backer in the face of the Israeli violations.
