TEHRAN - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad held a meeting with Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Saturday.

Assad arrived in Tehran earlier in the day with a high-ranking delegation for an official visit to the country.
During the meeting, Ayatollah Khamenei told Assad that the United States’ efforts to undermine the resistance movement in the Middle East region will not bear fruit.
The Leader praised Syria for its strength and forbearance in the face of external pressure and called for the expansion of ties between Tehran and Damascus.
There are no two other countries in the region with such strong bilateral relations, and efforts should be made to make the best use of this 30-year-old experience, he stated.
The Syrian president said that Iran-Syria relations serve as a model for other regional countries, adding that Damascus will continue to increase its cooperation with Tehran.
Iran and Syria are on the same side and have the same goals, he noted.
--------- Assad receives Iran's highest national medal
Earlier in the day, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad awarded Iran's highest national medal, the Grand National Order of the Islamic Republic of Iran, to the Syrian president for his support of the Palestinian and Lebanese nations.
This medal is a sign of Iran’s profound gratitude to the Syrian government and nation for their serious efforts to establish peace in the region, Ahmadinejad said during a ceremony held at the Foreign Ministry.
If it were not for Syria's resistance, no country in the region would have been unaffected by the Zionist regime’s aggression, the Iranian president added.
Following the ceremony, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem signed a memorandum of understanding for the establishment of an Iran-Syria free trade zone.
Iranian Industries and Mines Minister Ali-Akbar Mehrabian and the Syrian foreign minister also signed an MOU on increasing bilateral industrial relations.
----------- Tide turning in favor of Middle Eastern states
Ahmadinejad also held talks with Assad on Saturday, saying that in the region, the tide is turning in favor of Middle Eastern states.
Regional countries can work together to develop a strong economy which would serve their political, economic, and security interests, the Iranian president stated.
On the latest developments in Iraq, Lebanon, and Palestine, Ahmadinejad noted that strengthening the resistance front would help promote peace in the region.
The U.S. image is damaged and the scandal of the Zionist regime has been revealed, he added.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Ahmadinejad called for the expansion of comprehensive cooperation between Tehran and Damascus, particularly in the economic and trade spheres.
Assad said that regional states can benefit the entire region by signing multilateral agreements.
Commenting on the U.S.-backed talks between Palestinian and Israeli officials held in Washington on September 2, Assad stated that they have not changed anything in the region and were only organized to rehabilitate U.S. President Barack Obama’s image.
Assad was also scheduled to hold talks with other senior Iranian officials.
Syrian Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa and Assistant Vice President Mohammad Nassif are also accompanying Assad on the visit.