The Head of the Syrian diplomacy in Iran

The Syrian foreign minister, Faisal Moqdad, was received on Monday in Tehran by his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, on his first visit outside his country. Moqdad, whose government receives crucial support from Iran in the war that has ravaged Syria since 2011, took office on 22 November, days after the death of Walid Mouallem, who had led Syrian diplomacy for 14 years.  

The Syrian conflict, which was triggered in 2011 by the repression of pro-democracy demonstrations, has become more complicated over the years with the participation of a multitude of foreign actors and powers. The war has left over 380,000 dead and millions of displaced persons.  

According to the Iranian foreign ministry, Moqdad plans to stay in Teheran for a few days to meet with several officials. Iran is, together with Russia, one of the main allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the war that is tearing his country apart.  

Moqdad, who has been deputy foreign minister for the past 14 years, also met the speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohamad Baqer Qalibaf, and is due to do so tomorrow with the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamjani, among others.  

In the meeting with Moqdad, the head of Iranian diplomacy, Mohamad Yavad Zarif, stressed that due to "the recent changes in the region", "consensus between Iran, Syria and other countries is more necessary than ever. "Both sides stressed their willingness to broaden and strengthen strategic relations," according to a statement by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, which was picked up by Efe.  

Although he did not refer directly to them, Zarif probably referred to the peace agreements of several Arab countries with Israel and the frequent Israeli bombings against Iranian targets on Syrian territory.   

Zarif also expressed his satisfaction at the continuation of the political process in Syria and stressed the Islamic Republic's support for the Astana peace process.  

"Iran stands by the people and government of Syria in the fight against terrorism," Iranian Foreign Affairs spokesman Said Khatibzadeh wrote on Monday on Twitter, who also considered that "the only possible solution to the current crisis is political". According to the UN, representatives of the government, opposition and civil society will meet in Geneva on 25 January to discuss a revision of the constitution that could bring peace to the country.  

In addition to this dialogue sponsored by the UN in Geneva, Iran is taking part alongside Russia and Turkey in the so-called Astana peace process, which seeks to find a negotiated solution to the conflict that has plagued the Arab country for almost a decade.  

Furthermore, on 29 November the Israeli chief of staff, Aviv Kohavi, warned Iran that it would continue to attack its targets in Syria, as Tel Aviv considers Iran's presence in the neighbouring country a risk to its security. Tension has escalated following the assassination of the Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fajrizadeh, for which Iran has blamed Israel, calling for revenge.