TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad received his Syrian counterpart Sunday, the first head of state to pay an official visit to the newly-inaugurated Iranian leader, and reiterated that the two countries should unite against their opponents. Syrian President Bashar Assad emphasized terrorism in his comments after arriving in Tehran for a two-day visit. "Iran and Syria should pay attention to terrorism, which is spreading in the Middle East," Assad said.| "And who would know about this more than our two countries?" he added. |
| Spreading, if I'm not mistaken, from Iran and Syria, in fact... |
"Common threats deserve the formation of a united front by Iran and Syria more than ever," Ahmadinejad said at a joint news conference with Assad. "Boosting relations could protect the region from the threats." The Iranian leader did not identify the source of the threats but, in a commentary on the visit, Iranian state television said: "Cooperation between the two countries is important because the United States and Israel have invaded the region."In a February visit to Tehran by Syria's prime minister, Iranian and Syrian officials spoke of forming a "united front" to counter external pressure, but nothing concrete about an alliance has emerged. The Iranian TV commentary said "Syria considers boosting relations (with Iran) as a way of reducing U.S. pressure on Damascus." |