Haaretz
Shvat 30, 5767
Syria on Sunday denied
any rift between Damascus and Iran during a visit to Tehran by the Syrian
President Bashar Assad, who accused the enemies of Islamic countries of
trying to sow discord.
"The creation of a rift among Muslims is
their latest weapon, which is more dangerous than their previous plans,"
Assad was quoted as saying on the Iranian state television's Web site on
Sunday, a day after the Syrian leader ended his visit to Iran.
Assad's visit, his fifth since taking office in 2000, comes at a
time when some Arab diplomats have said Syria feels betrayed by Iran
because of a joint Iranian-Saudi Arabian effort to clamp down on sectarian
tensions in Iraq and violence in Lebanon.
Syria has largely
alienated many of its traditional Arab allies but has had close ties to
Iran for years.
Arab observers have said there are also newfound
tensions between majority Shiite Iran and majority Sunni Syria over their
differing interests in Iraq.
The site did not elaborate on who
those enemies might be, but during his two-day trip the Syrian president
also accused the U.S. and Israel of having ominous aims.
Iran's
Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Sunday the United States will
fail to achieve its goals in the Middle East, state television
reported.
"Realities in the region show that the arrogant front,
headed by U.S. and its allies, will be the principal loser in the region,"
the broadcast quoted Khamenei as saying in a meeting with
Assad.
Assad left Iran on Sunday after a two-day visit to discuss
Iraq and other regional issues with senior Iranian officials, including
Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
During his visit, Assad
accused the U.S. and Israel of trying to harm the regional positions of
Iran and Syria by raising questions about their roles in Iraq, Lebanon,
and the Palestinian Authority.
"Through effort and coordination, we
have to enlighten public opinion about the ominous aims of the U.S. and
Zionists," said Assad, the official Islamic Republic News Agency
reported.
Ahmadinejad expressed similar concerns when he accused
the U.S. and Israel of targeting Islamic countries under the pretense of
achieving peace.
"They imply that they are pursuing peace and
security in the region, however they want to improve their and the
Zionists' position in the region and hit Islamic countries," IRNA quoted
Ahmadinejad as saying.
The U.S. has accused Syria of not doing
enough to prevent militants from crossing its border into Iraq and has
blamed Iran for supporting Shiite militias in attacks that have killed
American troops. U.S. officials also accuse Iran and Syria of interfering
in Lebanon and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through supporting
Hezbollah and Hamas, both of which the U.S. considers terrorist
groups.
Iran and Syria have long been close allies. During the
1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, Syria was the only Arab country to support
Iran.
During the past 10 years, Iranian companies have invested
more than $700 million in Syria, in sectors such as power generation,
automobiles, cement and agriculture.
