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President Raeisi: Syria emerges victorious despite sanctions, threats

Wednesday, 03 May 2023 10:48 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 04 May 2023 6:49 AM ]

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi (L) meets with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, Syria, on May 3, 2023. (Photo by SANA news agency)

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi says Syria has managed to overcome difficulties and emerge victorious in spite of all the threats and sanctions targeting the Arab country.

“The Syrian government and nation have moved past major difficulties and problems. Today we can say that you … were able to win [the war] despite the threats and sanctions that were imposed against you,” Raeisi said at a meeting with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on Wednesday.

Syria has been a target of United States sanctions since 1979. The US and its Western allies imposed more such bans on Damascus after 2011, when the country found itself in the grip of rampant foreign-backed militancy and terrorism.

The sanctions intensified even further with Washington’s passing of the Caesar Act in 2019, which targeted any individual and business that participated either directly or indirectly in Syria’s reconstruction efforts.

He further said that regional and trans-regional changes have failed to affect brotherly relations between Tehran and Damascus.

“The Iran-Syria ties are tied to the blood of our beloved martyrs, especially General Qassem Soleimani, and this is a key to the stability and strength of the relations between the two countries,” Raeisi noted.

“Today, the legitimacy of the position of Iran and Syria … has been fully proven. Those who had doubts about Iran's political position are convinced that it was the right and fair stance.”

Iran’s President arrives in Syria for historic visit

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi arrives in Damascus to hold talks with Syrian officials during a historic two-day visit to the Arab country.

Raeisi also stressed that the Islamic Republic will stand by its Syrian brothers in the post-war era of reconstruction and development as it was the case during the fight against terrorism.

The Syrian president, for his part, hailed Iran’s support for Syria throughout the Arab country’s conflict, and said the Syrian nation won’t forget Iran’s assistance to them in their hard times.

“Syria-Iran relations are rich and full of experience, as this relationship has been stable even during tough times when there were heavy political and security storms in the Middle East,” he said.

President Assad called for Iran to play a bigger role in establishing sustainable peace in the country and reconstructing war-torn parts of Syria.

The two presidents also stressed the importance of Iran-Syria’s long-term cooperation plan for advancing the interests of the two nations and other countries in the region.

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