Al-Assad visits close ally Iran

The president of Syria, Iran’s closest ally in the Middle East, has arrived in Tehran for a two-day visit. Bashar al-Assad, who was greeted by his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, will be holding talks with top officials including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Discussions will center on the crisis in Lebanon and instability in Iraq. Washington accuses Tehran and Damascus of fomenting tensions in Iraq by allowing fighters to enter the country and providing financial help. They deny the allegations.

Earlier this week, Iraq shut its border with Iran and Syria as part of a security crackdown. Meanwhile, Iran has confiscated weapons and arrested some 65 men suspected of being involved in a deadly bombing that killed members of the country’s elite Revolutionary Guards on Wednesday.

Copyright © 2012 euronews