Raisi in Damascus for landmark visit, first in 12 years since war
The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi visits Syria in the first visit by an Iranian president to Damascus in 12 years.
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Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi disembarking from a plane after arriving at Damascus airport, Syria, May 3, 2023. (Reuters)
The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, has led a delegation and arrived in Damascus today, Wednesday, in response to an official invitation from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. This is the first visit by an Iranian president to Syria in 12 years.
من وصول الرئيس الإيراني إبراهيم #رئيسي إلى مطار دمشق الدولي #سورية
— الوكالة العربية السورية للأنباء - سانا (@SanaAjel) May 3, 2023
التفاصيل تجدونها على الرابط: https://t.co/k94rtFGceX pic.twitter.com/LfoOGRXmfc
Raisi: Syria steadfast in the face of attacks
Before leaving for Damascus, Raisi articulated that it has become clear to everyone that the Syrian government must have the right to sovereignty and territorial integrity over all Syrian territories. He expressed his hopes that this visit would aid in the development and expansion of Iranian-Syrian relations, and that it would be a useful and influential visit for relations between the two countries.
Raisi stressed that "the groups created by the Americans, such as ISIS and others, shed blood and created chaos in the region and committed many crimes."
He added that "resistance factions, the Syrian people, President Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian government have proven that they are steadfast in the face of these attacks."
"What the resistance, Lebanon's Hezbollah, and the Iranian advisors did, especially Martyr Qassem Soleimani, had an exceptional role in preserving the security of the region."
Raisi to tour Syria
Al-Mayadeen's correspondent to Syria reported that Syria and Iran are set to sign agreements during the visit, noting that such agreements will be highlighted by economic ones.
Our correspondent added that the Iranian president will head immediately after his arrival at Damascus airport to the presidential palace to hold talks with President Assad, along with partaking in other meetings during his visit.
During his two-day visit to Syria, the Iranian president and his accompanying delegation will discuss ways to strengthen political relations and expand economic cooperation with senior Syrian officials. He will also attend a joint meeting between Iranian and Syrian businessmen, meet Iranian residents in Syria, and will also visit religious sites.
Syrian newspaper Al-Watan quoted "informed sources" as saying on April 28 that the visit "will witness the signing of a large number of cooperation agreements and memorandums of understanding covering various aspects of cooperation, especially in the fields of energy and electricity."
For his part, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian described Raisi's upcoming visit to Syria as a success for the government's diplomacy in completing the process of regional integration.
Amir-Abdollahian, who will accompany Raisi on this visit, published a photo of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and martyr commander Qassem Soleimani, and wrote in a tweet: "I will soon leave for Syria with Dr. Raisi."
بزودی همراه با دکتر رئیسی عازم #سوریه هستم.اهمیت این سفر علاوه بر ابعاد سیاسی، امنیتی و اقتصادی، بيانگر تجلی پیروزی اراده‌ی سیاسی مقاومت و موفقیت دیپلماسی دولت در تکمیل روند همگرایی منطقه است.
— H.Amirabdollahian امیرعبداللهیان (@Amirabdolahian) May 2, 2023
یاد سردارسلیمانی عزیز و همه شهدا که امنیت را به ایران و منطقه هدیه کردند، گرامی باد. pic.twitter.com/oOoN6zksFe
He pointed out that the importance of this visit, in addition to the political, security and economic aspects, embodies the victory of the political will of the resistance and the success of government diplomacy in completing the process of regional integration.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi had spoken in an exclusive interview with Al-Mayadeen, broadcast on Tuesday about several political subjects, most notably the details of the Iranian-Saudi rapprochement, Iran's accession to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and relations with Syria.
Raisi said that Tehran declared, from the outset, that its policy was to "go to neighboring countries," and its decision was to establish good relations and good dealings with neighboring countries, and "to use the energies of the countries of the region to raise the level of relations" in all political, economic, cultural, and social fields.
It is noteworthy that Israeli media recently reported that this visit should be a cause of worry for "Israel."
According to Channel 13, the worrying part for the occupation is that Iran wants to unify the axis of resistance in order to change geopolitics in the Middle East.
