Iran FM ‘not informed’ about Assad’s visit: Spokesman

TEHRAN

Iran's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday it was not informed about a recent visit by Syrian regime President Bashar Al-Assad to Tehran.

“The ministry had no information at any level about the visit until the end of the trip,” ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said in a statement.

Last week, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif resigned without specifying a reason for the move.

Local media, however, linked the resignation, which was later rejected by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, to Assad’s visit to Tehran.

Qassemi confirmed that one of the reasons behind Zarif’s resignation was the lack of coordination with him about Assad’s visit.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity, triggering a deadly civil war that left hundreds of thousands of people dead.

Iran has been a staunch supporter of the Assad regime during the conflict.

Writing by Mahmoud Barakat