Iran, Syria hope for expanding anti-Israeli bloc (Roundup)

Oct 2, 2010, 13:09 GMT

Tehran - The leaders of Iran and Syria at a summit in Tehran Saturday expressed hope of expanding the anti-Israeli bloc in the region, the Iranian presidential office said in a statement.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad started talks with his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad upon his arrival in Tehran for the one-day visit.

'The strengthening of the (anti-Israeli) resistance movement will encourage other countries to join this bloc which then would eventually lead towards stabilizing regional peace,' the statement quoted Ahmadinejad as saying in the talks with al-Assad.

According to the statement, al-Assad also said the momentum of Tehran-Damascus ties could strengthen resistance groups against Israel.

Iran supports the anti-Israeli militant groups Hamas in Palestine and Hezbollah in Lebanon and has since the 1979 Islamic revolution not acknowledged the sovereignty of the Israeli state and followed an antagonistic approach towards the Middle East peace process.

Assad was further quoted as saying that the latest Israeli- Palestinian peace talks in Washington did not change the regional political status quo and were merely aimed at increasing support for President Barack Obama inside the United States.

Ahmadinejad said within the same context that 'the US and the Zionist regime (Israel) have been disgraced in the region and that would eventually serve the real interests of regional people.'

Both Assad and Ahmadinejad proclaimed that expansion of ties between Iran and Syria and political domination by the two states would not only benefit the region politically but also economically.

The official news agency IRNA reported earlier Saturday that the summit talks were expected to focus mainly on Iraq, Lebanon and Syria's stance on the latest peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel.

IRNA also said that Assad, who is accompanied by his Vice President Faruq al-Shara and Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, will be awarded later Saturday with Iran's national medal for his bravery, resistance and support for the anti-Israeli Hamas and Hezbollah groups.