Assad to visit Iran to congratulate Ahmadinejad

Syrian President Bashar Assad is scheduled to embark on an official visit to Tehran next week, during which he is expected to congratulate Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on his recent election victory. This visit marks Assad's fourth such trip since Ahmadinejad first rose to power in 2005.

The Iranian news agency reported Friday that Assad and Ahmadinejad were to discuss ways to strengthen relations between their respective countries, despite repeated requests by Israel and the U.S. that Syria sever ties with Iran if it is interested in maintaining ties with them.

The trip comes just as Syria was reportedly signaling to the U.S. that it is interested in bolstering ties. The Tehran visit also comes amid reports of an American security delegation visiting Damascus.

Meanwhile Friday, Syria's ambassador to Turkey said that his country was not willing to relinquish Turkish mediation in the country's talks with Israel. The comment came in response to remarks made earlier this week by Israel's Deputy Defense Minister Danny Ayalon, who said that Israel was not interested in indirect talks with Syria, only direct negotiations.

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Assad is a weasel(and, in fact, physically resembles one, but let's let that pass for the moment). That's not news.

Too bad you fail to see it.

And Syria is no longer trying to destroy Israel. They just want the Golan back. Syria knows it couldn't get away with attacking Israel anymore even if it wanted to.

Too bad you had to throw in a red herring.

His father's alliance with the Islamic Republic was signifigant in so many ways at such a pivotal time; nowadays, most seem so burdened with the requirements of inertia and seem unable to chart any sort of exciting course.