TEHRAN, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- Syrian President Bashar Assad met with his Iranian counterpart to discuss regional challenges, including Iraq and the Arab-Israeli issue.
Assad arrived in Tehran on Wednesday to meet with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to discuss a series of bilateral issues, the official Syrian Arab News Agency reports.
Both leaders expressed support for the Iraqi government as it struggles with national reconciliation, stability and territorial integrity. Available state media reports from either country did not include statements of condolence regarding the Wednesday bombings in Baghdad, however.
Apart from issues in Iraq, the two leaders stressed the important of pushing forward with a collaborative effort to end the "Israeli siege" on the Gaza Strip and surrounding border crossings. The leaders also called for renewed efforts at Palestinian reconciliation in order to help restore the rights of the Palestinian people, SANA reports.
Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, praised Assad for his "enmity" toward the United States.
Meanwhile, Press TV, the state-funded broadcaster in Iran, reports French daily Le Figaro claims Assad was dispatched to Tehran on behalf of French President Nicolas Sarkozy to secure the release of Clotilde Reiss.
Reiss, a French academic, was arrested by Iranian authorities in the civil unrest that followed the disputed June presidential elections in Iran.
