Iranian officials meet Syrian leaders

publisher: UPI

Publishing date: 1996-02-27

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Iran’s vice president, Hassan Habibi, arrived Tuesday in Damascus and spoke with Syrian officials about improving diplomatic relations, an official Syrian source said. Habibi, heading a delegation that also includes Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati, met Syrian Vice President Abdel Halim Khaddam and Foreign Minister Farouk Sharaa, the source said.

Habibi was expected to meet Thursday with Syrian President Hafez Assad. During three days of meetings, Syrian officials are expected to brief the Iranians on Syria’s peace talks with Israel, which Iran opposes, he said. But the source denied that Syrian-Iranian ties are strained because of the negotiations and said Iran does not object to Syria attempting to regain control of Israeli-occupied land. He described relations with Tehran as ‘good,’ even though Habibi twice postponed his visit to Syria since November. Ties were publicly strained in November when Syria supported the United Arab Emirates in a dispute with Iran over sovereignty for the Gulf islands of Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Mousa. Western sources indicated at the time that the real reason behind the strain was Iran’s fear of isolation that could result from a breakthrough in the peace talks after the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Sharaa and Velayati are also expected to discuss the slayings of sons-in-law of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and how such violence in Iraq could affect the stability of the region. Iran fought a war with Iraq in 1980-88.

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