Update: Iran, Syria join hands with Russia to settle Syrian crisis

Iranian and Syrian officials vowed to continue trilateral consultations and cooperation with Russia in a bid to defeat terrorism and find political solutions to the crisis in the Arab country, Press TV reported on Monday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and the visiting Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad met in the capital Tehran on Monday and discussed mutual relations as well as the latest political and military developments in Syria.

They also exchanged views on the recent trilateral meeting, between Iran, Russia and Syria, held in Moscow in late October.

The Iranian side stressed the importance of holding more three-sided consultations and said the sides should also improve their cooperation at the international level.

Top diplomats of Russia, Syria and Iran met in Moscow on Oct. 28 and vowed to defend the revival of intra-Syria talks in order to facilitate a political solution to the protracted crisis in the war-torn Middle East country.

All the three parties reaffirmed that there is no alternative to the settlement of the Syria crisis by political and diplomatic means.

On Monday, Mekdad hailed what he called Iran's "principled" stance on the regional issues, particularly the crisis in his country.

Iran stands at the forefront of the fight against terrorism and extremism, he said, adding that friendly countries to Syria must further exchange views about the political solutions to the Syrian crisis.

The Islamic republic, along with Russia, have emerged as the major allies of the Syrian government in its struggle against the militant groups who are seeking to overthrow the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

On Monday, Ali Larijani, speaker of the Majlis, Iran's parliament, praised the Syrian government as the resistance axis against terrorism and extremism in the region.

"Syria has been at the forefront of resistance against extremism and terrorism and have fought against them to save the country's territorial integrity," Larijani was quoted as saying by semi-official Mehr news agency.

President Bashar al-Assad has been wisely leading the country and has been highly principled and accurate in handling the crisis in Syria, Larijan said in a meeting with Mekdad.

The Iranian speaker reiterated Tehran's unwavering support to the Arab state, saying "Syria has a strategic significance for Iran's foreign policy."

The ties between Iran and Syria, rooted in history, are "enduring" and at a "very good" level, he said, adding that both countries should strive to further improve parliamentary interactions alongside political and economic relations.

Mekdad updated Larijani on the latest developments in Syria and both sides discussed the means for further interactions.

Moreover, Ali Akbar Velayati, the senior advisor of Iran's Supreme Leader, said Monday that enemies seek to disintegrate Iraq and Syria but their illusion will not come true, official IRNA news agency reported.

"By dividing Iraq and Syria into small countries, they (enemies) will be able to easily dominate other countries since the morale of resistance might not exist anymore," Velayati said in another meeting with the visiting Syrian official.

If such a plot is implemented, it will further guarantee Israel's security; however, this will never happen, he said.

"We are quite confident that the U.S. will fail in its plots" against regional states, including Syria, Velayati said.

The former Iranian foreign minister hailed the recent progress of the Syrian army in its battle against terrorists, saying that those victories have weakened the spirits of the terrorists dramatically.

Mekdad said his country is determined to continue its fight against terrorists through reliance on Iran's support.

Saudi Arabia has waged a mad war with the purpose of preventing the resistance forces from achieving the final victory, but Syrian officials are optimistic that the war would end soon, Mekdad said.

There is also an agreement between popular forces of Syria and Iraq on the battle against terrorists, he added.

Since 2011, when the Syrian civil war began, more than 250,000 Syrians have been killed and millions of the Syrians have been displaced from their homes. Endit