Damascus: The United States should pack up and leave the Middle East and stay out of regional affairs, Iran's president said yesterday during a visit to Damascus that follows a string of US efforts to break up Syria's 30-year alliance with Tehran.
"[The Americans] want to dominate the region but they feel Iran and Syria are preventing that," Ahmadinejad said during a news conference with Bashar Al Assad. "We tell them that instead of interfering in the region's affairs, to pack their things and leave."
A string of high-profile visits to Damascus in recent months — from the US, France, and now Iran — shows Syria's strategic importance in the Middle East.
US President Barack Obama is determined to engage with Syria, a country seen as key to peace in the region but which the State Department has long considered a state sponsor of terrorism. America's goals include peeling Syria away from Iran.
Ahmadinejad's trip comes amid rising US tension with Tehran over the country's nuclear programme. The US and others believe Iran is hiding nuclear weapons development under the guise of a civilian energy programme. Iran insists that its intentions are peaceful.
Yesterday, Al Assad signalled his strong support for Iran, saying America's stance toward the country "is a new situation of colonialism in the region."
Still, Al Assad could be open to a breakthrough with the Americans. He is hoping for US help in boosting a weak economy and for American mediation in direct peace talks with Israel — a recognition that he needs American involvement to achieve his top goal of winning the return of the Golan Heights, seized by Israel in the 1967 Mideast War.
But Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday that the recent decision to send the first US ambassador to Syria in five years does not mean American concerns about the country have been addressed.
Speaking to lawmakers, Clinton said the nomination of career diplomat Robert Ford is a sign of a "slight opening" with Syria. But she said Washington remains troubled by suspected Syrian support for militant groups in Iraq and elsewhere.
Stronger ties
Syria and Iran yesterday signed an agreement waiving visa requirements for their nationals as the two countries' presidents met in Damascus to reaffirm their "deeply rooted" ties. The agreement was signed by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al Mua'alem and his Iranian counterpart, Manouchehr Mottaki, who accompanied Ahmadinejad on the visit.
Al Assad reiterated Syria's support for Iran's nuclear programme. The Western position on Iran's nuclear programme is "a new colonialism in the region," Al Assad said.
