Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian arrived in Syria's capital Damascus on Saturday and spoke about "comprehensive developments" in the relations between his country and Syria, Xinhua reported, citing Syria’s official news agency SANA.
Speaking jointly with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad to reporters upon arrival, Abdullahian said that over the past few weeks, Syria and Iran have reached "important agreements" for achieving comprehensive development in the relations in all fields.
He added that both sides are putting forward "intensive programs" to implement cooperation in the economic, trade, and tourism fields.
"Syria is on the path of progress and prosperity," he said, stressing his country's ongoing support to Syria.
Mekdad described the visit of the Iranian official as "important," noting that there are "important developments" that will be discussed between both sides for the interests of both peoples.
While Iranian leaders deny that the Islamic Republic has a military presence in Syria, Iran is a key supporter of the Assad regime in Syria, having providing the regime with both financial aid and military advisers against a range of opposing forces since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011.
Near the start of the Syrian civil war, it was reported that then-Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had personally sanctioned the dispatch of officers from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards to Syria to fight alongside Assad’s troops.
Ali Akbar Velayati, a top aide to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, made clear several years ago that Iran would withdraw its “military advisers” from Syria and Iraq only if their governments wanted it to.
Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, in 2019 boasted that his country had “accomplished more than 90 percent” of its goals in Syria.
Shamkhani also said that his country will keep working with Syria against “the Zionist regime of Israel”.