Tehran, Damascus Hold Security Coordination Meeting to Confront US Moves

Syria’s Special Adviser at the Republic Presidency Luna al-Shebel, Asharq Al-Awsat
Syria’s Special Adviser at the Republic Presidency Luna al-Shebel, Asharq Al-Awsat
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Tehran, Damascus Hold Security Coordination Meeting to Confront US Moves

Syria’s Special Adviser at the Republic Presidency Luna al-Shebel, Asharq Al-Awsat
Syria’s Special Adviser at the Republic Presidency Luna al-Shebel, Asharq Al-Awsat

Security talks between Iran and Syria were conducted in Tehran at a time when Syria’s Special Adviser at the Republic Presidency Luna al-Shebel announced Damascus having information about extremist fighters leaving the Middle East region and heading to Ukraine and Kazakhstan.

Speaking to Sputnik on Monday, al-Shebel revealed that the Syrian government had communicated with representatives from the rebel republics of Donetsk and Luhansk to inform them that Damascus is ready for cooperation as soon as the turbulence in the region settles.

Al-Shebel’s statements coincide with Tehran holding an Iranian-Syrian security meeting on Sunday.

The top Iranian security official Ali Shamkhani held a meeting with the Head of the Syrian National Security Bureau Major-General Ali Mamlouk to discuss bilateral ties, as well as regional and international developments.

According to Iranian media, Mamlouk presented Shamkhani with a security briefing od the situation in Syria.

For his part, Shamkhani asserted that Tehran will continue to back Damascus.

“Iran, which has supported the Syrian government and people in the most difficult circumstances and the height of terrorist group movements, is determined to continue its support for the Syrian government and people,” Shamkhani told Mamlouk according to IRNA.

Mamlouk said that cooperation between Tehran and Damascus in counterterrorism helps in bolstering regional security.

The state-owned SANA reported that Mamlouk and Shamkhani reviewed means for confronting alleged US efforts for reviving terror groups in Syria.

Mamlouk urged all states to unite to end extremism worldwide and praised Iran’s role in fighting terrorism.

Shamkhani pointed to field mobilization to train, arm, and direct terror groups in Syria, and accused the US of playing a “dangerous” part in creating regional and global crises.

“The US occupation of parts of Syria is the biggest obstacle to the full return of security and stability to it,” SANA quoted Shamkhani as saying.



Iran, UK, France, Germany to Hold Nuclear Talks on Friday

Women walk near a building bearing an anti-US mural with the slogan "Down with the USA" and skulls replacing the stars on the US flag, on Tehran's Karim Khan Zand avenue on April 26, 2025. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
Women walk near a building bearing an anti-US mural with the slogan "Down with the USA" and skulls replacing the stars on the US flag, on Tehran's Karim Khan Zand avenue on April 26, 2025. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
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Iran, UK, France, Germany to Hold Nuclear Talks on Friday

Women walk near a building bearing an anti-US mural with the slogan "Down with the USA" and skulls replacing the stars on the US flag, on Tehran's Karim Khan Zand avenue on April 26, 2025. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
Women walk near a building bearing an anti-US mural with the slogan "Down with the USA" and skulls replacing the stars on the US flag, on Tehran's Karim Khan Zand avenue on April 26, 2025. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)

Iran will hold nuclear talks in Rome on Friday with Britain, France and Germany, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Wednesday, with the aim of improving strained ties at a time of high-stakes nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington.
The meeting will precede a fourth round of nuclear talks this weekend between Iran and the United States, also to be held in Italy.
"In my opinion, the three European countries have lost their role (in the nuclear file) due to the wrong policies they have adopted. Of course, we do not want this and are ready to hold talks with them in Rome," Araqchi told state media.
Reuters reported on Monday that Tehran had proposed meeting the European countries, collectively known as the E3, which are parties to Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers that US President Donald Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018.
E3 political directors confirmed they would meet with Iran on Friday.
Trump has threatened to attack Iran unless it agrees to a new nuclear deal. Iran has far exceeded the 2015 agreement's curbs on its nuclear program since the United States withdrew, and the European countries share Washington's concern that Tehran could seek an atomic bomb. Iran says its program is peaceful.
A UN Security Council resolution ratifying the 2015 accord expires in October, and France's foreign minister said on Tuesday that Paris would not think twice about re-imposing international sanctions if negotiations fail to reach a deal.
"These sanctions would permanently close off Iranian access
to technology, investment, and the European market, with devastating effects on the country's economy," Jean-Noel Barrot said.
Iran's UN representative responded: "If France and its partners are truly seeking a diplomatic solution, they must stop threatening."
On Tuesday, the US Treasury Department imposed new sanctions on what it described as a network based in Iran and China accused of procuring ballistic missile propellant ingredients for Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Araqchi said US sanctions during negotiations sent the "wrong message".
Trump has said he is confident of clinching a new pact that would block Iran's path to a nuclear bomb.