Iran leader visits Syria, will meet Hamas chief
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday his country and Syria are united behind Palestinian "resistance" to Israel, taking a tough tone as he met with his top Arab ally, Syria”s president.
Ahmadinejad was expected to meet with the chiefs of Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups during his visit to Damascus, said Khaled Abdul-Majid of the Popular Struggle Front said. Iran is a strong supporter of militant Islamic groups in the region, including Hamas and Lebanon”s Hezbollah.
Ahmadinejad”s visit to Syria comes as the U.S. is trying to improve strained ties with the two longtime adversaries. But it could turn out to be another reminder of what a divisive role he plays on the world stage. The Iranian president has called for Israel to be wiped off the map and questioned the Holocaust.
Sitting alongside Syrian President Bashar Assad at a press conference, Ahmadinejad said the two countries” alliance was achieving "victories" in preventing "the big powers” offensive to dominate the region."
"Syria and Iran have been from the very beginning united and in agreement to stand on the side of the Palestinian resistance," Ahmadinejad said. "They will continue to do so. We see that the resistance will continue until all occupied territories are liberated."
Ahmadinejad and other Iranian officials have been sending mixed messages in the face of President Barack Obama”s calls for dialogue with Iran — at times taking a moderate tone, but then repeating a tough line.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who is currently visiting the Middle East, said Tuesday the U.S. is still waiting to see how the Iranians respond to Obama”s outreach, but so far the rhetoric from Ahmadinejad has been "not very encouraging."
Gates sought to reassure U.S. Arab allies, who are worried that their rival Iran will be boosted by a U.S. dialogue or that any U.S.-Iranian reconciliation will ignore their interests. He also said a "grand bargain" between Tehran and Washington was unlikely.
There has been widespread speculation in the region that the Obama administration would try a "grand bargain" with Iran, in which Washington would press Israel for concessions in the peace process with the Palestinians in exchange for Tehran ratcheting back its nuclear program.
"The United States will be very open and transparent about these contacts, and we will keep our friends informed of what is going on so nobody gets surprised," Gates said at a press conference in Egypt before heading to the Saudi capital.
Abdul-Majid said the meeting with the Palestinian factions is a message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu”s government and what he called the "racist" steps it is taking, such as settlement expansion in areas where Palestinians want a future state.
"It is a message to strengthen the coalition of resistance forces in the region," he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
While the Obama administration supports a two-state solution to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Netanyahu, who took office in March, has so far refused to endorse the idea of an independent Palestinian state.
Hamas” top political leader Khaled Mashaal, who is based in Syria, was quoted by the New York Times Tuesday as saying that Hamas is willing to support a two-state solution. But he also said Hamas would not renounce violence against Israel or recognize the Jewish state.
Syria is Iran”s closest Arab ally. The two countries have had warm relations since 1980, when Syria sided with Persian Iran against Iraq in the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.