Syria Officially Accepts Iran's One Billion Dollar Credit Aid

According to the official Syrian news agency, Damascus has officially accepted Iran's one billion dollar credit aid, and Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, has also approved the related law. This news was published on July 8 and refers to aid whose initial agreements were made in May of this year. In mid-May, the head of the Central Bank of Syria told Bloomberg that this would be Iran's second credit line to assist Syria's economy since 2013. This aid will be provided through the Export Development Bank of Iran. Iran's previous credit assistance to the central government in Damascus amounted to 3.6 billion dollars in July 2013. Tehran is one of the most important allies of the government in Damascus, and its assistance comes amid the Syrian civil war, while the central government maintains control over parts of Syria, including the capital. According to Reuters, banking officials say that Iran's previous credit aid was mostly spent on oil imports to that country. Last spring, when news of the initial agreement for the one billion dollar credit was published, meetings between senior officials of the two countries also took place, including the visit of the Syrian Defense Minister to Tehran on May 8, where he met with his Iranian counterpart and other senior military officials. Syria's economy has faced widespread problems in recent years due to the ongoing civil war. According to Reuters, one of these issues is the depletion of foreign reserves, which were estimated to be between 16 to 18 billion dollars before the crisis. Meanwhile, before the civil war, Damascus earned 2.5 billion dollars annually from its oil exports. Tehran itself is currently facing international sanctions due to its nuclear program, which has led to a decrease in the country's oil exports and access to revenues from it. Iran and six world powers are in the final stages of negotiations aimed at lifting sanctions in exchange for lasting verification of the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program.