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Iran's defense minister stresses expansion of ties with Syria
IRNA -- Minister of Defense Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani in a message on Wednesday congratulated his Syrian counterpart over Syria's national occasion of Evacuation Day, and highlighted the need for the expansion of Tehran-Damascus ties. Shamkhani, in his message to General Musfata Tlas, stressed that the unilateral approaches of outside powers have triggered war in the region, adding that this has made the need to promote mutual relations more significant than before. He further stressed that Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution had opened a new chapter in relations with Syria. "Iran's ties with Syria could be a model of mutual confidence and good will for the Muslim nations and also for the members of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)," Shamkhani said in the message.

The harder-liners are starting to get their breath back now, thinking in terms of combining forces to fight the infidel. Now we can sit back and watch of few months in infighting in Teheran as the moderates try to straighten up their act while the tough guys push for the united front thing. Syria, of course, will go for the united front, but it takes two to tango. I think Iran's ultimately going to pass, but the behind-the-scenes bloodletting will either weaken the hardliners or cause them to try and push the Khatami bloc aside. If that happens, we might eventually have to send in troops to stop the slaughter.

Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2003-04-16
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=13154