Iran’s retaliatory strike taught Israel ‘lesson’: Assad
Araghchi: There are initiatives for cease-fire in Gaza, Lebanon
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Saturday that Iran’s missile attack against Israel on October 1 served as a “lesson” for the illegal regime.
The missile strike on Tuesday evening, just days after Israel killed the leader of Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah, was “a strong response and taught the Zionist entity a lesson,” Assad was quoted as saying as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Damascus.
Assad said the strategic relationship between Syria and Iran is vital to deal with regional challenges and threats, especially Israel’s occupation of Arab lands and its daily crimes against civilians in Lebanon, Palestine and Syria.
The top Iranian diplomat stressed confidence in the strength of the resistance in Lebanon and Palestine to confront the Israeli machine of destruction and killing.
Upon his arrival in the Syrian capital of Damascus on Saturday, Araghchi said there are initiatives for a cease-fire in the besieged Gaza Strip and Lebanon, expressing hope that they come to fruition amid the Israeli regime’s continuation of crimes and massacres.
Araghchi’s visit to Damascus, his first since he took office in August, comes almost a year after Israel’s launched its devastating war on Gaza on October 7 in response to a Hamas operation on Israel’s position in the occupied territories.
The conflict has also drawn in Hezbollah and on September 23 Israel sharply intensified its campaign against the resistance group.
“The purpose of my trip to Damascus is to continue consultations regarding the developments in the region,” Araghchi said.
His meetings in the Syrian capital followed a visit to Beirut Friday during which he voiced support for a truce in Lebanon acceptable to Hezbollah “simultaneously with a cease-fire in Gaza.”