Saudi foreign minister meets Syria’s Assad in Damascus
Al JazeeraNov 27, 2022
The Facts
Iranian Pres. Ebrahim Raisi arrived in Damascus on Wednesday in an effort to bolster bilateral ties in the first visit by an Iranian head of state to Syria since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011.
Raisi, traveling with a large political and economic ministerial delegation, is set to hold "extensive political and economic talks" with his counterpart Bashar al-Assad and sign several bilateral agreements, Syrian state media reported.
The Spin
Establishment-critical narrative
Raisi's landmark trip to Syria is a major victory for Iranian diplomacy in advancing the regional rapprochement process. Moreover, the normalization of Iran-Syria relations deals another blow to Washington and the Israeli regime and their attempts to bring Iran to its knees and plunge Syria into chaos through their proxy war. The joint reconstruction of Syria signals a new dawn and will have a positive impact on regional politico-economic integration.
Pro-establishment narrative
Raisi's visit to Syria underscores Iran's autocratic plans to expand its regional influence at the expense of security and stability. While the Syrian regime seeks to normalize relations with the Arab world, Tehran is instrumentalizing Damascus to improve its ability to threaten Israel through its proxies, such as Hezbollah. The increasing rapprochement of regional rulers is a cause for concern for the US and Israel that needs to be closely monitored.
