Syria important pillar of resistance front despite enemies’ plots: Leader’s senior advisor

A senior advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says Syria, under the leadership of President Bashar al-Assad, has withstood all attacks and plots by its enemies and continues to be a major pillar of resistance front in the region.

“Syria is a major pillar of resistance front,” Ali Akbar Velayati said in a Monday meeting with Syria’s new ambassador to Iran, Shafiq Dayoub, adding that cooperation between the Iranian and Syrian nations and governments is expanding on all fronts.

Velayati then conveyed the Leader’s message to the Syrian envoy, to be relayed to the country’s president, in which Ayatollah Khamenei has wished rapid recovery for President Assad who according to the latest reports has contracted coronavirus infection along with his wife.

The official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) quoted a statement by the Syrian president's office as saying on March 8 that President Assad and his wife Asma had tested positive for coronavirus but they were both in good health.

It added that the duo had shown “mild symptoms” of COVID-19, but were in good and stable condition.

The Leader's aide said, "The Syrian president is a strong and brave leader who resisted against all attacks, enmities and conspiracies during an unequal ... war imposed by regional and international criminals [on his country] and played a very valuable and important role in maintaining Syria's independence."

Velayati expressed the Islamic Republic's readiness to dispatch an experienced medical team to Damascus to visit the Syrian president.

The Syrian ambassador, for his part, expressed his appreciation to Ayatollah Khamenei for his message and support and said President Assad is recovering while in home quarantine.

Dayoub said Iran plays a very constructive and positive role in the region and called for the further expansion of mutual ties in all areas.

He emphasized that Tehran-Damascus relations are indicative of the brotherhood and deep respect that exist between the two sides, which play an important role in safeguarding the dignity of nations in the region and thus the ties should be further enhanced.

Iran began providing Syria with advisory military assistance after numerous countries — at the head of them the US and its Western and regional allies — started funding and arming terrorists with the aim of deposing the Syrian president's government.

Despite initially losing considerable expanses of territory to Daesh and other terror outfits, the country regained its strength with the help of Iran and Russia, another Damascus’ ally, and managed to reverse the balance in favor of itself on the battleground.

In a phone call with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad in February, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Tehran will keep supporting Syria in various fields, particularly in the war against terrorism and in the efforts to ensure security and stability across the country.

The top Iranian diplomat stressed the importance of making efforts to realize a solution that preserves the interests of the Syrian nation.

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