TEHRAN - Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad traveled to Damascus on Thursday along with a high-ranking political and economic delegation at the invitation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

During his visit, he met with the Syrian president, Lebanese Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah, and Palestinian leaders based in Syria. Iran and Syria also issued a joint communiqué reaffirming their strategic alliance. The negotiations between the Iranian and Syrian delegations started on Thursday afternoon, presided over by Ahmadinejad and Assad. “Iran and Syria were, are, and shall be brothers and allies,” the Iranian president said. “Iran-Syria ties are deep, enduring, and expanding,” he added. Time is on the side of regional countries and against their enemies, Ahmadinejad said, adding, “Today resistance is continuing with wisdom and coordination, and I feel sure that God is with regional countries and their enemies will have no choice but to recognize the rights of regional nations.” Assad said the Syrian government and people were happy that Ahmadinejad visited the country. Iran-Syria relations are expanding day by day, he stated. Iran and Syria also issued a joint communiqué calling for regional unity. In the communiqué, the two sides called on all Palestinian groups to resolve their disputes through dialogue and to maintain national unity. The two countries also expressed their support for Palestinians’ right to return to their homeland and to establish an independent Palestinian state with Beit-ul-Moqaddas as its capital. Both sides expressed their satisfaction over the level of bilateral political relations and called for efforts to strengthen their ties in various spheres. The communiqué condemned the Zionist regime’s ongoing aggression against Palestinian civilians. Iran and Syria also condemned the sacrilegious and disrespectful behavior of the Zionist regime toward Palestine’s historical sites and called for the international community to take serious action to bring a halt to it. Both states expressed their support for the Iraqi government and its efforts to maintain the country’s national unity, integrity, and independence, and for the endeavors to facilitate the withdrawal of the occupying forces. Iran and Syria also underlined the need to strengthen national dialogue in Lebanon and said they would support any agreement among the Lebanese people which would guarantee the country’s security, independence, and prosperity. In his meeting with Nasrallah, Ahmadinejad said the Lebanese can thwart enemy plots through unity and resistance. Ahmadinejad and the Iranian delegation returned to Tehran on Friday