Raisi praises Assad 'victory' on landmark Syria visit

Visiting Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Wednesday hailed Syria's Bashar Al Assad for overcoming sanctions and achieving "victory" in the country's 12-year-long civil war.

"Syria's government and people have gone through great difficulties, and today we can say that you have overcome all these problems and achieved victory despite the threats and sanctions imposed on you," Raisi told Assad, according to a statement from the Syrian presidency and Iran's IRNA news agency.

Assad told Raisi that Syria-Iran ties "were stable and steady during difficult times despite heavy political and security storms that struck the Middle East", according to the statement.

Iran "did not hesitate to provide political and economic support (to Syria), and even offered blood," Assad added.

Raisi's visit is the first by an Iranian president to Syria since the war broke out, and comes at a time when more regional capitals are re-engaging with the internationally isolated government in Damascus.

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The large Iranian delegation includes the ministers of foreign affairs, defence, oil, roads and urban development as well as telecommunications.

Assad and Raisi signed memoranda of understanding on "long-term strategic cooperation", covering fields including in oil, aviation, railways and agriculture, SANA said.

Iran's state-owned railway company has long aspired to expand its network through neighbouring Iraq and Syria, linking it to the Syrian port of Latakia on the Mediterranean Sea to boost trade.

A week before the Iranian president's visit to Damascus, Iran's minister of road and urban development, Mehrdad Bazrpash, met with Assad in the Syrian capital, where he delivered a message from Raisi supporting the expansion of ties, Iran’s state IRNA news agency said.

"Syria’s government and people have gone through great hardship," Syrian state media quoted Raisi as telling Assad during their meeting.

"Today, we can now say that you have overcome all these problems and were victorious, despite the threats and sanctions imposed against you.”

A poster with pictures of Ebrahim Raisi and Bashar Assad with Arabic that reads, "Welcome," in Damascus. AP

"Just as the Islamic republic stood by the Syrian government and nation in the fight against terrorism, it will also stand by its Syrian brothers in the field of development and progress," Raisi said, according to the presidency website.

The visit comes just weeks after Iran's landmark, Chinese-brokered agreement to restore ties with  Saudi Arabia, which has sparked a flurry of diplomacy in the Middle East.

Security forces were heavily deployed in key parts of the Syrian capital, while billboards with portraits of the two presidents reading "welcome" in Arabic and Persian lined the airport road.

Syrian and Iranian flags also flew along the road to the Sayyida Zeinab mausoleum south of Damascus, a pilgrimage site which Raisi was expected to visit.

Agencies