Friday, 18 February 2005ORLY HALPERN
Two days after Lebanon's former prime minister was assassinated and all eyes turned toward Damascus, the Syrian prime minister showed up at Iran's doorstep with seven ministers in tow. Syria needs friends, needs money and it needs support ÔÇô wherever they can be found.
Lebanon, in Syria's backyard, is filled with people calling Syria names and accusing it of murder. The Iraqi neighbors are accusing Syria of supporting the Iraqi insurgency. The Jordanians and Turks are neutral, not wanting to upset their big US patron because, although Syria is not on the official US "Axis of Evil" list, as is Iran, it is undoubtedly an honorary member. And the Israelis are ÔÇô well, Israelis.
The only one in the neighborhood willing to befriend the local outcast is Iran, itself not one of the most popular kids on the block, because of its development of nuclear capabilities.
This week the two outcasts decided to form a club. Russia is an integral supporter; the US and Israel are the bullies to be kept out.
The official reason for Prime Minister Naji al-Otari's visit to Teheran was to improve economic ties and help Syria overcome the economic sanctions imposed by the US, which may become more severe following the Hariri assassination. But the timing and the statements made in Teheran to the press over the past two days by Otari and Iranian leaders underline that the trip is also intended to display the new alliance, to deter any potential attackers.
Upon Otari's arrival in Teheran on Wednesday, he said Iran and Syria should form a "united front" against threats from abroad ÔÇô a thinly veiled reference to the intense US pressure against both regimes.
Thursday he met with Iran's powerful former president, Hashemi Rafsanjani, now the head of the Expediency Council, who called for cementing relations between Iran, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and other Islamic states.
Regional conflict was the wish of the US and Israel, Rafsanjani said, and for that reason, the countries in the neighborhood should "stay completely vigilant vis-a-vis the US and Israeli plots in this regard."
Later that day, Iranian President Muhammad Khatami made plain at a press conference with Otari that Iran supports Syria and radical anti-Israeli groups. "We respect the Syrians, who are in the frontline in the fight against the Zionist regime, and we salute their legitimate struggle to recover their occupied lands," he said. "We support the resistance in Lebanon and all those fighting the [Israeli] occupation."
According to Muhammad Sadeq al-Hosseini, an Iranian expert on Arab affairs, "The Iranian-Syrian common front is not a new phenomenon. Iran and Syria have been strategic allies for the past 2 1/2 decades. What was declared Wednesday was insistence on more coordination and cooperation between the two in the face of growing US hostility."
Hosseini added: "The declaration may lead to closer high-level contacts so that the two can assist each other at crucial moments... Closer cooperation between Teheran and Damascus can help delay US plans against the two countries."
Russia, the supportive friend, on Thursday announced it had agreed to sign a contract later this month to continue help in the construction of Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant. Also visiting Teheran Thursday, the head of Russia's Security Council, Igor Ivanov, asserted Iran's right to find access to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
Earlier this week, Russia confirmed its sale of air-defense weapons to Syria, a deal that worries Israel and the US.
The air-defense aspect of the club aside, the two countries have a great deal to gain from economic cooperation. In an op-ed piece in the Teheran Times on Thursday, Hamid Golpira wrote about Iranians' low standard of living, despite the country having the fourth largest oil reserves and the second largest gas fields. Syria's economy has been in dire straits and the US economic sanctions on it have made it worse.
On Wednesday, Otari sat with Iranian First Vice-President Muhammad-Reza Aref at a meeting of the Iran-Syria High Committee on Economic Cooperation to discuss how to raise Iranian investment in Syria from about $600 million to $3 billion within five years.
"Iran will share its experiences ÔÇô those of sanctions in particular ÔÇô with Syria, given the situation Damascus is faced at present time," Aref told reporters in a press conference.
No doubt Iran has lots of experience to share and Syria is expecting to use it, especially after the US pulled its ambassador on Tuesday and with rumors flying about increased economic sanctions on Syria. That's presumably why the Syrian housing, electricity, transportation, industry, economy, culture and irrigation ministers all came along with Otari for the ride.
"Iran's experiences are highly appreciated and we hope that we can make use of the experiences," Otari said at the press conference.
Iran and Syria need a united policy, since the two countries are faced with many challenges, he noted, probably referring to non-economic as well as economic issues.
Iranian companies have already begun projects in the reconstruction of a power plant in the Syrian city of Banyas, the construction of a cement company and joint manufacture of Samand automobiles.
The Syrian premier's visit is not limited to finances and politics. He will be inaugurating a Syrian cultural center in Teheran, and earlier this week, Damascus University announced the opening of the first Persian-language studies department in the country. Syria also promised to send students of Persian language and literature to Iran.
AP contributed to this report |
Friday, 18 February 2005
Jerusalem Post
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