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Assad Meets Iran Supreme Leader in Tehran

Syrian regime head Bashar Assad meets with Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran in this handout released by SANA on February 25, 2019. (Reuters)
Syrian regime head Bashar Assad meets with Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran in this handout released by SANA on February 25, 2019. (Reuters)
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Assad Meets Iran Supreme Leader in Tehran

Syrian regime head Bashar Assad meets with Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran in this handout released by SANA on February 25, 2019. (Reuters)
Syrian regime head Bashar Assad meets with Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran in this handout released by SANA on February 25, 2019. (Reuters)

Head of the Syrian regime Bashar Assad held talks in Tehran on Monday with Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

It marked Assad’s first visit since the eruption of the Syrian war.

The leaders "reviewed the fraternal and strong relations between their two peoples, which have been the main factor in maintaining Syria and Iran in the face of plots by enemy countries", the presidency said.

Syrian and Iranian state television showed footage of Assad and Khamenei smiling and embracing, and Syrian TV said the two leaders agreed “to continue cooperation at all levels for the interests of the two friendly nations”.

Assad also met with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani during his trip.

Iran “as before will be alongside the people and government of Syria," Iran government's official website quoted Rouhani as saying.

It was Assad’s first known foreign visit other than to Russia since the war began, and his first to Tehran since 2010.

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Türkiye Says It Believes Kurdish Fighters Will Be Forced Out of All Syrian Territory

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler takes part in a NATO Defense Ministers' meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium October 12, 2023. (Reuters)
Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler takes part in a NATO Defense Ministers' meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium October 12, 2023. (Reuters)
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Türkiye Says It Believes Kurdish Fighters Will Be Forced Out of All Syrian Territory

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler takes part in a NATO Defense Ministers' meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium October 12, 2023. (Reuters)
Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler takes part in a NATO Defense Ministers' meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium October 12, 2023. (Reuters)

Türkiye believes Syria's new rulers, including the Syrian National Army (SNA) armed group which Ankara backs, will drive Kurdish YPG fighters from all territory they occupy in northeastern Syria, Defense Minister Yasar Guler said on Sunday.

Türkiye regards the Syrian YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants who have fought an insurgency against the Turkish state for 40 years and are deemed terrorists by Ankara, Washington, and the European Union.

The YPG spearheads an alliance, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is backed by the United States and controls territory in northeastern Syria. Since the fall of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad two weeks ago, Türkiye and Syrian groups it backs have fought against the SDF, seizing the city of Manbij.

"We believe that the new leadership in Syria and the Syrian National Army, which is an important part of its army, along with the Syrian people, will free all territories occupied by terrorist organizations," Guler said during a visit to Turkish troops on the Syrian border with military commanders.

"We will also take every necessary measure with the same determination until all terrorist elements beyond our borders are cleared," he said in a video released by his ministry.

Ankara has demanded the Syrian Kurdish fighters disband, and has called on Washington to withdraw its support. The US military acknowledged last week it has 2,000 troops on the ground in Syria, twice as many as it had said previously.

On Saturday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Türkiye would do "whatever it takes" to ensure its security if Syria's new administration was unable to address its concerns.