Iran Tracker

Reaction to June 2009 Iranian Presidential Election:

In June, 2009, Syrian President Bashir Assad congratulated Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on his re-election, offering "best wishes for progress and prosperity" to the Iranian people.[1]

Nuclear:

Several international news agencies have accused the Syrian government of cooperating with Tehran on the sanctioned Iranian nuclear program. In June 2008, the British Guardian paper reported that an Israeli advisor released evidence that “the Iranians were involved in the Syrian program. The idea was that the Syrians produce plutonium and the Iranians get their share. Syria had no reprocessing facility for the spent fuel.”[2] At the same time, Agence France-Presse reiterated a report by the German news magazine Der Spiegel that alleged Iran and North Korea had been supporting a secret nuclear facility in Syria that would have helped Iran develop a nuclear weapon for Iran until Tehran could move the program to its own territory. Syria and Iran both denied the allegations, and an Israeli air strike destroyed the facility before International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors could verify the accusations.[3] Despite the loss of evidence in the airstrike, the IAEA placed Syria on its proliferation watch-list based on satellite pictures provided by the U.S. intelligence community that showed a reactor that could be used for plutonium enrichment. [4] As a result, both Syria and Iran remain on the IAEA nuclear watch-list although both have signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. [5] In October 2008, Iran dropped its bid for a seat on the IAEA to lend its support to Syria, its ally and former competitor for the position reserved for a Middle Eastern or South Asian country. [6]

On February 13, 2010, Israel accused Syria of helping Iran to divert attention from its nuclear program by employing confrontationalist rhetoric and spreading rumors of a war with the Jewish state. "I hope that Syria will not let itself get carried away by the bellicose statements of Iran" against Israel, Danny Ayalon, Israel's deputy foreign minister, said in a public meeting near Tel Aviv.[7]

Economic Relationship:

In recent years, Syria and Iran have made plans to enhance their already significant financial cooperation. In January 2008, Iranian Press TV reported that the two countries planned to speed up the construction of a joint oil refinery. The $2.6 billion contract, which involved Malaysia and Venezuela as well as the two Middle East countries, will have the capacity to refine 140,000 barrels a day; this would provide Iran with the ability to refine much more of its own crude oil, giving Tehran greater flexibility by weaning it off refined oil imports from neighboring states. [8] According to Ali-Akbar Mehrabian, the Iranian minister of industries and mines, Syria and Iran already cooperate in $1.3 billion worth of industry projects with an additional $3 billion planned for the future. He explained that “our specialists have already inaugurated car production lines, cement production plants, electricity power plants, water channels, and silos in Syria,” the official explained.”[9] Syrian and Iranian cooperation also extends to the banking sector: the two agreed in July 2008 to establish a joint bank in Damascus with assets initially worth $30 million. [10] According to Iranian Housing and Urban Development Minister Mohammad Saeidikia in June 2009, a joint bank would aid in the expansion of bilateral trade, which stood at roughly $350 million in 2008.[11]

On January 10, 2010, Iran's Deputy President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi expressed hope that the establishment of a joint Iranian-Syrian bank would be finalized soon. "We hope to finalize the issue in my upcoming visit to Syria," Rahimi said in a meeting in Tehran with the Syrian Minister of Economy and Trade, Amer Hosni Lotfi. Iran and Syria agreed in 2008 to set up a joint bank in the Syrian capital, with an initial investment of $30 million.[12] Iranian Minister of Housing and Urban Development Ali Nikzad stated that the annual trade between Iran and Syria is on the rise and has reached about $330 million, adding that imports from Syria comprised only about $16 million of the total value. He said that 36 Iranian companies were operating in Syria, further adding that the Islamic Republic of Iran has over $1.6 billion worth of technical and engineering services projects in hand in the Arab republic. [13]

[Click here for more information about Syria’s business activity with Iran.)

Diplomatic/Military Cooperation:

Iran and Syria have enjoyed a close relationship since Iran’s Islamic Revolution of 1979; this relationship has deepened even as international pressure against Iran’s nuclear program has increased.[14]  In May 2009, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, during which time the two leaders reaffirmed their support for “Palestinian resistance.”  Ahmadinejad also scheduled to meet with leaders of Hamas during his visit to Damascus.[15]  During the visit, President Assad reaffirmed his country’s close relationship with Tehran, claiming that the “strategic” alliance between the two countries helped provide security to the region.[16] Affirming the strength of relations between Damascus and Tehran, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hassan Qashqavi stated during a July 27, 2009 press conference that"nobody can disturb the ties between the two countries, which are based on mutual respect and brotherly relations."[17]

Syrian - Iranian bilateral relations have extended beyond their economic and diplomatic relations to conventional military agreements and support for paramilitary groups. In 2006, Iran and Syria signed a mutual defense treaty against their “common threats,” Israel and the United States.[18] Iran has also supplied Syria with military equipment and paid for some of Syria’s military purchases from the two countries’ common suppliers, Russia and China.[19] Outside of conventional military cooperation, both Iran and Syria have supported the Lebanese Hezbollah. [20] Although Hezbollah has been listed by several countries as a terrorist organization, both Tehran and Damascus have continually provided the Shi’i Islamic group with funding and vocal political support since Hezbollah’s creation in the 1980’s.

During a July 2009 joint press conference with British Foreign Minister David Miliband, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem stated that Syria is ready and willing to help find a “political solution for issues standing between Iran and the West,” offering to mediate between the two sides.[21]

In October 2009, US soldiers discovered ammunition aboard a German cargo ship traveling from Iran to Syria.  The cargo included 7.62 millimeter bullets suitable for Kalahnikov rifles, indicating that the shipment was intended for either the Syrian army or Hezbollah.  The shipment, which was in violation of UN Security Resolution 1747 that “forbids all weapons shipments into and out of Iran,” was rerouted to Malta under US direction.[22]

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said in a press conference with his Syrian counterpart Walid Muallem in November 2009 that the “people and leaders of Lebanon are wise enough to reach a consensus in their country’s important decisions through constructive negotiations and our regional cooperation continues with the purpose of [creating] stability and peace in the region and strengthening regional convergence.”  Both were adamant that neither government would hinder the formation of the Lebanese government.[23]

The Syrian speaker of Parliament met with the Iranian Supreme Leader in Tehran on January 7th to discuss bilateral diplomatic concerns in the region. Mahmoud al-Abrash said Damascus and Tehran would move forward with regional unity and common interests in mind.[24] Meanwhile, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the visiting Syrian official that the two countries would join forces to redefine geopolitics in the region. "Iran and Syria have a joint mission to create a new world order on the basis of justice, humanity and belief in God," he said. [25] Similarly, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani stressed that the strategic ties between Tehran and Damascus can play a major role in facilitating the two countries' cooperation on international issues, including the future of Palestine. "The Syrian government is among those governments which have very strategic and age-old relations with Iran and it has close cooperation with Iran on political issues and different issues related to the establishment of security in the region," Larijani said while addressing an open session of the parliament attended by the visiting Syrian Speaker.[26]

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki expressed relief in January 2010 over the formation of the Lebanese unity cabinet and said Tehran and Damascus backed the Lebanese government. During a visit to Damascus on Monday, Mottaki discussed the latest regional and international developments and the new status quo in Lebanon following the June 7 parliamentary elections in a meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. [27] They also called for Palestinian unity and stressed on the immediate need to improve Arab, Islamic, and international efforts to lift the siege off the Gaza Strip. [28] Moreover, Assad has called for additional consultations among regional states to devise ways to counter the plots of foreign powers. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told Assad during a meeting that “the presence of foreign forces, and the plots of the [major] powers” are the main causes of the current crises in the region. [29]