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Iranian president arrives in Syria on first visit in 13 years — SANA

This is the first visit of the Iranian president to Syria in 13 years
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi AP Photo/Vahid Salemi
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi
© AP Photo/Vahid Salemi

BEIRUT, May 3. /TASS/. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has arrived in Syria, the SANA news agency reported on Wednesday.

According to it, Raisi is being accompanied by a large delegation, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Defense Minister Mohammad-Reza Ashtiani as well as Petroleum Minister Javad Owji.

This is the first visit of the Iranian president to Syria in 13 years.

On Tuesday, Iranian Government Spokesman Ali Bahadori Jahromi said that the visit would focus on trade and economic cooperation. On April 28, Syria’s Al-Watan newspaper citing a source in the government reported that Raisi and his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad would hold talks in Damascus on May 3-4 on bolstering bilateral strategic cooperation, particularly in the economic sphere. According to the newspaper, a large package of documents will be signed during the Iranian leader’s visit.

Raisi’s visit to Syria is taking place amid yet another escalation of the Arab-Israeli conflict. On Tuesday, Israeli warplanes delivered strikes on the Syrian army’s positions near Aleppo, the Suria TV channel reported. One Syrian serviceman was killed deflecting the attack and seven sustained wounds. Additionally, the attack damaged the landing strip at Nairab airport.