Iran, Syria discuss details on Parl. Friendship Committee

Iran’s Amir-Abdollahian and Syria’s Parl. Speaker Hadiyeh Khalaf Abbas conferred on the details of forming a Parliamentary Friendship Committee between the two countries.   Hadiyeh Khalaf Abbas who is in Tehran at the invitation of her Iranian counterpart Ali Larijani, deemed her first visit to Iran as Syria’s Parliament Speaker indicative of the deep strategic ties between the two countries, and considered the formation of a Parliamentary Friendship Committee headed by Ali Larijani as a sign of Tehran’s significant regard for Syria.   She further noted that she will soon chair the Iran-Syria’s Parliamentary Friendship Committee in Damascus.   Khalaf also referred to the recent US-led coalition airstrike that killed at least 80 Syrian troops while the ceasefire had been still in effect, saying the attack proves the White House’s support for terrorism.   Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Iranian Parliament's General Director for International Affairs, for his part stressed the significance of the Parliamentary Friendship Committee in a comprehensive following up of the two countries’ relations.   “In recent months, the Americans were engaged in indirect attempts to persuade Iran to accept that President Bashar Assad should have no part in the future of Syria,” Amir Abdollahian said.   He went on to add, “the precise and clear positions of the Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and Iran’s strategy, however, stopped the realization of the US and Zionist regime’s objectives in this regard.”  “For this reason, the Americans started to exert great pressure on Russia and by using threats and bribes, tried to convince the country to agree with them on the removal of Assad, but Moscow played its hand very wisely,” he added.  The Iranian official stressed, “Ayat. Khamenei with his usual tact and wisdom did not allow any negotiations with the US on regional issues and the Syrian situation, because the history of the Revolution and the contemporary history as well have proven to us that the promises of American authorities are never to be trusted.