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New Syria FM to Visit Iran on First Foreign Visit

FILE: Newly-elected Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Meqdad addresses the media after a meeting at the Geneva Conference on Syria at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva when he served as Deputy Foreign Minister in February 14, 2014, w REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
FILE: Newly-elected Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Meqdad addresses the media after a meeting at the Geneva Conference on Syria at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva when he served as Deputy Foreign Minister in February 14, 2014, w REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
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New Syria FM to Visit Iran on First Foreign Visit

FILE: Newly-elected Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Meqdad addresses the media after a meeting at the Geneva Conference on Syria at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva when he served as Deputy Foreign Minister in February 14, 2014, w REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
FILE: Newly-elected Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Meqdad addresses the media after a meeting at the Geneva Conference on Syria at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva when he served as Deputy Foreign Minister in February 14, 2014, w REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

Iran's Foreign Ministry said Sunday that newly-appointed Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Al-Meqdad will visit Tehran Monday.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a statement that the top Syrian diplomat will meet with his Iranian counterpart and other Iranian officials.

The visit to Tehran marks Meqdad's first foreign trip since his appointment as foreign minister last month after the death of former FM Walid Al-Muallem.

Last month, Zarif called Mekdad to congratulate him on his appointment and underline Iran's wish to preserve its strategic cooperation with Damascus.

Al-Muallem, who had served as Syria’s top diplomat since 2006, passed away on 16 November at the age of 79.

Mekdad, started a career at the Syrian foreign ministry in 1994, and has been deputy foreign minister since 2006. Before that, he served as his country's permanent representative to the UN from 2003 to 2006.

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Biden: Joseph Aoun is ‘First-Rate Guy’

FILE - President Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, July 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool, File)
FILE - President Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, July 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool, File)
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Biden: Joseph Aoun is ‘First-Rate Guy’

FILE - President Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, July 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool, File)
FILE - President Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, July 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool, File)

US President Joe Biden welcomed the election of Joseph Aoun as Lebanon's president on Thursday, saying in a statement that the army chief was the “right leader” for the country.

“President Aoun has my confidence. I believe strongly he is the right leader for this time,” said Biden, adding that Aoun would provide “critical leadership” in overseeing an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire.

Aoun's election by Lebanese lawmakers ended a more than two-year vacancy and could mark a step towards lifting the country out of financial meltdown.

“We finally have a president,” Biden said later, at the end of a meeting on the response to major wildfires in the US city of Los Angeles.

He said he had spoken to Aoun by phone on Thursday for “20 minutes to half an hour,” describing the Lebanese leader as a “first-rate guy.”

Biden pledged to continue US support for Lebanon’s security forces, and for Lebanon’s recovery and reconstruction, the White House said in a readout of Biden’s call with Aoun.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Aoun's election “a moment of historic opportunity,” which offered Lebanon a chance to “establish durable peace and stability.”

Aoun, who turned 61 on Friday, faces the difficult task of overseeing the fragile ceasefire with Israel in south Lebanon.

Separately, Biden spoke about the hostage talks between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

“We’re making some real progress,” he told reporters at the White House, adding that he had spoken with US negotiators earlier Thursday.

“I know hope springs eternal, but I’m still hopeful that we’ll be able to have a prisoner exchange.”

Biden added: “Hamas is the one getting in the way of that exchange right now, but I think we may be able to get that done. We need to get it done.”