TEHRAN - Ali Akbar Velayati, a top advisor to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, said on Monday that Iran and Syria seek to “protect” the resistance movement in the Middle East and counter the Zionist regime of Israel and its allies.

“Iran-Syria all-out cooperation has resulted in protecting Syria from foreigners’ aggression, and the U.S. and the Zionists have realized that what they sought to impose on the Syrian government and people was just an illusion,” Velayati told reporters after a meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem in Damascus.

Muallem said that Iran and Syria have “strong” and “strategic” relations.

“We are proud of Iran’s presence in the axis of resistance and Iran is partner to the Syrian army and people’s victories,” he said.

Hezbollah, Palestinian freedom fighters, and Syria are collectively called the “axis of resistance”. 

Velayati arrived in Syria on Sunday after his visit to Lebanon.

He visited Lebanon on Thursday to attend the International Union of Resistance Scholars meeting. He met separately with Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

NA/PA