Even as Syria moves forward with peace talks with Israel, it is strengthening its ties with Iran. On Tuesday, Syrian Defense Minister Hassan Turkmani ended a three-day visit to Tehran by signing a new defense pact with the Islamic Republic. Read the Tehran Times report here.
Also on Tuesday, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, met with Khaled Meshaal, the Hamas terror chief who lives in Damascus, to urge him to keep up his fight against Israel even if Syria goes the other way.
Syrian President Bashar Assad quickly reassured Tehran, telling a group of visiting British parliamentarians that Damascus would not accede to Israeli demands that Syria cut ties with Iran. “He said if Israel could question Syria’s relations with Iran, then Syria could question Israel’s ties with other countries, particularly the United States,” a source told Reuters.
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