Syrian foreign minister expected in Iran

Nov 3, 2009, 9:56 GMT

Damascus - Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem will visit Tehran on Tuesday, a Syrian diplomat told the German Press Agency dpa.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said al-Moallem would likely act as an intermediary between Saudi Arabia and Iran on regional issues.

Al-Moallem is expected to discuss developments in Iraq, Lebanon, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and increasing three-way cooperation among Turkey, Syria and Iran, the diplomat said.

Iranian pilgrims' participation in the annual Hajj pilgrimage to the Saudi cities of Mecca and Medina would also likely figure in the discussions, the source added.

Syria and Iran are close allies. Iraq's top politicians have accused Syria of harbouring ex-Baathists they blame for plotting and funding the lethal truck bombings in Baghdad on August 19 and October 25 that together left 255 people dead and hundreds more injured.

Many of Iraq's leading Shiite Muslim political parties have close ties to Iran, and Iraqi Sunni Muslim politicians often complain of Iranian 'interference' in the country, albeit in veiled terms.

In Lebanon, Syria and Iran support Hezbollah, a political group with ministers in the cabinet and a military wing that in 2006 waged a war against Israel.

In Gaza and the West Bank, Syria and Iran's support for Hamas and a coterie of smaller groups has rankled Israeli and western diplomats.