A top aide to the Iranian regime’s Supreme Leader met with Syrian dictator, Bashar al-Assad, on Tuesday, underlining firm support for Damascus by the clerical regime as it faces mounting pressure from insurgents.
The meeting came as opposition forces in Idlib province seized an army base from the Syrian military, expanding their grip in the northwest of the country.
Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Ali Khamenei and a former foreign minister, was the most senior of three officials from the Iranian regime to travel to Damascus in less than a week.
Syrian state television said the meeting yielded several agreements in the oil, electricity and industrial sectors and regarding investments, without giving further details.
Assad told Velayati that the Iranian regime was “a main support” in his battle against the Syrian people while Velayati reiterated Tehran’s continued backing for Assad, state news agency SANA said.
“Iran is determined to continue to stand by Syria and support it with whatever is needed,” SANA quoted Velayati as saying.
The Iranian regime is Syria’s main regional ally and has become more pivotal to Assad’s position since the uprising against his rule in Syria broke out in 2011.