Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad visited Tehran recently to congratulate the Iranian president on his election victory. But what else was on the agenda, wonders Bassel Oudat Although Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad has visited the Iranian capital Tehran three times since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to power in 2005, his latest visit, which took place recently amid much media speculation, has generated more than the usual interest, not least because of mixed messages about the dates and agenda of the trip. The Iranian authorities initially said that the Syrian president would arrive in Tehran on Sunday 9 August. However, one day before he was due to arrive, the date was mysteriously postponed until the 12th, with neither Iran nor Syria giving the reasons for the delay. Syrian officials have kept their lips sealed regarding the delay, with the Syrian media not even announcing the visit in advance. Officials in Damascus have also been giving the impression that media reports on the Iranian side concerning the dates and significance of the visit are inaccurate. The declared reason for Al-Assad's visit was for the Syrian leader to offer his congratulations to Ahmadinejad on his re-election as president of Iran. However, speculation is rife that this cannot be the real, or only, reason. Writers in the Syrian press have said that the postponement of the dates of the visit was due to the fact that Syrian officials wanted to disassociate it from the controversy over the detention of a French national in Tehran, who was finally released one day before Al-Assad was expected in the Iranian capital. Media sources close to the ruling Baath Party in Syria have hinted that Al-Assad did not want it to look as if his visit was part of a mediation mission on behalf of France, which would have put him in an awkward position since the woman was not a Syrian citizen. Had the Syrian president publicly intervened to assist a French national held in Tehran, critics of the regime in Syria would have been quick to demand that he should release political prisoners held in Syria's prisons before helping French nationals. Other sources have linked Al-Assad's visit to the Iranian capital with more obviously political matters, pointing out that the visit came shortly after another visit by a US security and political delegation to Syria to discuss security- related matters in Iraq. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki also visited Damascus on 11 August, analysts have pointed out, and US- Syrian dialogue could easily have a bearing on Iraqi and Iranian affairs. For their part, Lebanese commentators have said that the Syrian leader's visit may have been related to the formation of the Lebanese government, with Syria wanting the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hizbullah Party to soften its stand on the government in a bid to improve Syrian-Saudi relations. High-ranking Western diplomatic sources in Damascus told the Weekly that the Iranians had wanted the visit postponed. One source said that the Iranians had asked for more time to look into last-minute Syrian additions to the agenda, requiring high-level consultations to decide on them. While Al-Assad's visit took place three days later than originally planned, it still made the Syrian leader the first foreign head of state to visit Tehran to congratulate Ahmadinejad on his election victory. Al-Assad had previously also been the first foreign leader to send a message of congratulations to Ahmadinejad, making the gesture less than 24 hours after the final count was announced. Syrian political analyst Amr Kosh said that in making the visit Al-Assad was making "a major gesture" towards the Iranians and indicating that he wanted relations between the two countries to stay on course. During the disturbances that accompanied and followed the elections in Iran, the state media in Syria was careful to defend the Iranian regime, praising the way in which the elections had been conducted and lashing out at both Iran's foreign critics and the protesters. One writer described European condemnation of the results as "rabid". Syrian-Iranian relations have improved steadily over the past few years, both politically as well as economically, with Iran now being a major foreign investor in Syria. Senior officials in both countries have described relations between Damascus and Tehran as "strategic", with Syria saying on more than one occasion that there was nothing "negotiable" in its relations with Iran. After meeting with Ahmadinejad and Iran's Supreme Guide, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Al-Assad returned to Damascus to be welcomed by the Syrian media, which described the visit as having bolstered friendship and promoted cooperation between the two countries. While commentators added that the two sides had reviewed developments on the regional and international scenes, the Syrian media refrained from revealing any details of the talks held in Tehran. In particular, there were no reports of the comments made by Al-Assad, as reported by the official Iranian news agency, which quoted the Syrian leader as denouncing "foreign interference" in Iranian affairs and calling Ahmadinejad's victory a "lesson for foreigners". Al-Assad was also quoted as saying that "the main reason for the interference of enemies and Westerners is to stop Iran and Syria from scoring further victories over the coming four years." According to the Iranian media, the Syrian president also said that the "doors of the international community would now open to both Iran and Syria," adding that the "West is going through a phase of confusion" and Syria and Iran should continue their policies in the region. The comments raised a few eyebrows among Europeans, who had not expected such a line from the Syrian leader at a time when he has been seen as trying to woo the West. However, the Syrian president may just have been trying to please his allies in Tehran and reassure them that Syria would support them in the future. The fact that the Syrian media omitted any reference to Al-Assad's comments in Tehran has been taken as a sign that the remarks do not reflect Syria's position towards the West. Outwardly, Al-Assad was in Tehran to congratulate and to reassure. However, Arab diplomatic sources say that the visit was actually part of an effort to formulate a common strategy on issues important to both countries. Al-Assad may also have wanted to thank the Iranians for releasing the French national they had been holding, particularly since the Syrian president had made it known that he supported her release. The affair may seem insignificant, but it may nevertheless be more important than meets the eye since it shows outsiders that one way of doing business with Iran is to go through Syrian channels. The French detainee's release would also have boosted Al-Assad's standing in Paris, since it had been French president Nicolas Sarkozy who had originally asked Syria to intercede in the matter. Earlier this month, a US security delegation met Syrian officials in Damascus to discuss issues related to Iraq. During the talks, the two sides are believed to have discussed the infiltration of fighters from Syria into Iraq and the flow of weapons across the country's borders. The possibility of Syria helping the US in its attempts to curb the wave of terror that has hit Iraq may also have been discussed, as may Syria's relations with Hizbullah and the Palestinian group Hamas. Although Syrian-US differences are still considerable, US sources described the talks as "positive and constructive", and Syrian observers believe that Damascus wants to establish better relations with the US, but is unable to do so without first consulting its Iranian allies. According to a senior Syrian diplomat, Al-Assad has played an important role in "establishing the preliminary principles for dialogue between the US and Iran". During his visit to Tehran, Al-Assad will also have discussed the situation in Lebanon with his Iranian counterparts and the failure of the Lebanese opposition in the parliamentary elections. Syria has long wanted the Lebanese to sort out their internal differences and to form a government, and Iran, by putting pressure on Hizbullah, can help in this regard. As well as acting as a bridge between Iran and the West, Syria could also play the same role in helping to improve relations between Iran and the Arabs, especially the Gulf countries. It is likely that Al-Assad and Ahmadinejad discussed Iranian-Arab relations during the recent visit, particularly the need to defuse tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Finally, Al-Assad's visit to the Iranian capital so soon after the contested presidential elections would have come as a personal boost for Ahmadinejad, who had been accused by opposition groups in Iran of having stolen the elections. Syria and Iran both say that they have no intention of changing their policies in the region and that the West will need to accept them as they are. But are the Syrians and Iranians interested in defying the West, or do they mean to come to some sort of accommodation with it? Despite the rhetoric that came out of Tehran during the Syrian president's recent visit, the answer to this question is not yet clear.
