Foreign Minister Miqdad meets with Shamkhani and Qasimi, Talks to Enhance Bilateral Relations

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Dr. Faisal Miqdad, met in the Iranian capital Tehran on Tuesday the 7th of December 2021 with the Secretary of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council, Admiral Ali Shamkhani. Talks during the meeting dealt with bilateral relations and the latest developments on the Syrian and regional arena.

Foreign Minister Miqdad asserted to his Iranian counterpart that terrorism, aggression, the unjust siege and the unilateral coercive measures will not stop the Syrian people’s resistance and steadfastness in the face of the arrogance and ambitions of the enemies. Minister Miqdad stressed that the continuous attacks of the Zionist entity on Syria provide a true example of terrorism and constitute an act of provocation.

Minister Miqdad pointed out that the US and Turkish occupation of parts of the Syrian territory constitutes a violation of the principle of sovereignty and an aggression against the territorial integrity of Syria. In this respect, Miqdad stated that: “The United States is going on with its endeavor to reactivate terrorist cells in order to prevent the establishment of sustainable stability in Syria.”

The Foreign Minister indicated the wide economic opportunities available for cooperation between Syria and Iran, which necessitates work to achieve a qualitative leap in this respect which calls for an increase in the presence of public and private sector Iranian companies in the Syrian market.

For his part, Shamkhani condemned the Zionist entity’s continuous attacks on the Syrian territory and confirmed to Miqdad that these attacks are part of the series of Israeli aggressions on Palestine and Lebanon, stressing that resistance and steadfastness are the only way to eradicate the cancerous Zionist gland from the region.

Shamkhani denounced all forms of occupation from any side and said that the ongoing occupation leads to destabilization of security and expansion of violence, stressing that the fate of any aggression and occupation throughout history was nothing but retreat and humiliating defeat.

Shamkhani referred to the regional situation in the light of the US efforts to reactivate the terrorist organization “ISIS” in order to deepen crises in the area. In this regard, the Iranian official stated that:  “The US is very angry and seeks to create new crises following the collapse of ISIS organization in Syria and Iraq and the victory of the Resistance Front, which led to strengthening strategic capabilities of this front in view of the fact that the American-Zionist project to target Syria had serious repercussions on the security of the entire region.

Shamkhani praised the strategic relations between Iran and Syria in various political and security fields, stressing the need to apply this to all sectors, especially the economy, declaring his country’s full readiness to cooperate in this respect.

During the talks, the two sides stressed the continuation of work and coordination at all levels to serve the interests of the people of the two friendly countries.

Within the framework of his visit to Iran, Dr. Miqdad met with the Minister of Roads and Cities Building and Chairman of the Joint Ministerial Committee of the Iranian side, Rostam Qassemi. The two sides discussed ways to enhance relations and cooperation in the economic field and the upcoming visit of Minister Qassemi to Syria.

Minister Miqdad stressed the need to activate and implement the agreements and memoranda of understanding signed between the two countries, and to study the signing of new agreements to face the challenges facing the Syrian and Iranian peoples represented by the US unilateral coercive economic measures.

For his part, Minister Qassemi stressed his aspiration to visit Syria and work to ensure positive results in the field of activating economic cooperation between Syria and Iran in order to achieve the anticipated increase in cooperation.

The meetings were attended by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari, Syria’s Ambassador in Tehran, Dr. Shafiq Dayyoub and staff of the Syrian embassy.