Syrian sources say Syrian Vice President Abdel Halim Khaddam has left for Tehran for talks with Iranian officials on bilateral ties, the situation in Iraq and Israeli military activity in south Lebanon. The sources say Khaddam was scheduled to meet Vice President Hassan Habibi as part of the Iranian-Syrian joint committee.
They will also discuss proposed Iranian mediation between Syria and Turkey, who have been at loggerheads over sharing the water from the Euphrates river. Turkey also alleges that Syria has been supporting Kurdish rebels fighting to establish a separate state in southeast Turkey. One Syrian source says the meetings in Tehran ‘prove that relations between the two countries are still at the same previous strategic level’ despite recent suggestions of strained ties. The source was referring to comments in Iranian newspapers criticizing Syria for endorsing resolutions by Gulf Arab countries that supported the sovereignty of the United Arab Emirates over three islands claimed and currently controlled by Iran. The newspapers also criticized Syria for backing the Gulf Cooperation Council states and Egypt in denouncing Iran for the deployment of ground-to-ground missiles on the disputed Gulf islands. Arab diplomatic sources in Damascus said Syria backed the Gulf states in response to their support for Syria’s position on Middle East peace negotiations. Iranian sources in Damascus said Khaddam would also meet Iraqi Shiite opposition figure Baqer al-Hakim, who is based in Tehran and heads the Supreme Assembly of the Islamic Republic in Iraq, SAIRI.
