Islamic Republic and Syria Seek to Strengthen Relations; Raisi to Visit Damascus

A senior regional source close to the Syrian government told Reuters on Friday that Ebrahim Raisi, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, will travel to Damascus next week. Ebrahim Raisi is the first Iranian president to visit Damascus since the onset of the war in Syria in 2011. Assad has managed to regain control over most of his country with military and economic assistance from Russia and Iran. This senior source indicated that the warming relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, as well as the beginning of the process to end Assad's isolation among Arab countries, have paved the way for this visit. The Syrian newspaper Al-Watan, close to the Assad government, reported that Raisi's visit will last two days and will involve a series of agreements, particularly in the field of economic cooperation. Iran has previously provided credit lines to Damascus and imported phosphate from Syrian mines. Regional sources revealed this month that Iran has secretly transferred weapons and other military equipment to Syria under the guise of humanitarian aid following the devastating earthquakes in Syria and Turkey in February. The outlook for normalizing relations between regional countries and Bashar Assad's government in Syria is evolving. Turkey: The talks at the Moscow meeting involving Iran, Syria, and Russia were 'constructive'. The European Union has sanctioned Bashar Assad's cousins for 'involvement in drug trafficking'. Israel targeted Hezbollah positions in southern Syria.