The Strategic Alliance Between Iran and Syria – Military and Economic Aspects By Y. Mansharof and O. Winter* MEMRI.org The cooperation between Iran and Syria has recently broadened in a variety of areas, including the military, security, economic and scientific spheres.
Close relations between the two countries are evident, inter alia, in numerous reciprocal visits by their leaders and in statements made during these visits. Thus, for example, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei declared, during Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad's February 2007 visit to Tehran, that Iran and Syria constitute a strategic depth for one another.(1) Strategic cooperation between the two countries was also expressed in statements by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, at a meeting with Syrian Prime Minister Muhammad Naji Al-Utri during his March 2007 visit to the country, when he said, "Iran and Syria have common enemies, [a circumstance] which requires perfect coordination vis-à-vis enemy plans, attainable through a maximal deepening of relations between them."(2) Assad, on his part, declared in Tehran in February 2007 that "enhancing relations between Tehran and Damascus is extremely important for solving the problems of the Islamic world, as well as for the progress of both Iran and Syria."(3) Furthermore, in February 11, 2007 meeting marking the 28th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution, held at the Iranian Embassy in Damascus, Al-Utri stressed that "strategic Syria-Iran cooperation and coordination are the only way to deal with the pressures and with the evil attack on them [by the West]."(4) This paper will examine military and economic aspects of the strategic alliance between Syria and Iran, based on statements by senior officials of these countries, on protocols and memoranda of understanding, and on communiqués and articles published in the Arab and Iranian media.
Development of the Military Alliance Between Iran and Syria In addition to reciprocal visits by the leaders of Iran and Syria, there have recently been several visits by military delegations to both countries, in which agreements were reached for developing military relations and a protocol for defense cooperation was signed.
On July 19, 2007, Ahmadinejad paid a one-day visit to Syria. According to non-official sources, he was joined by a high-ranking military delegation headed by Iranian Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najar comprising over 20 officers from the General Staff and the Revolutionary Guards. The delegation arrived on the presidential plane, which landed in a remote corner of the Damascus airport.(5) During the visit, Ahmadinejad and Assad signed a statement reiterating the strategic alliance between Iran and Syria. In a joint press conference held by the two presidents, Ahmadinejad declared that "Iran and Syria have been, are, and always will be sisters and allies." He added that "the two countries present a powerful united front against the enemy in the region [i.e. the West and Israel]."(6) Al-Sharq Al-Awsat: Iran Will Finance Syria's Weapons Deals On July 21, 2007, correspondent for the London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat Ali Nourizadeh wrote, citing an Iranian source that had monitored the Damascus talks, that during Ahmadinejad's visit a secret agreement had been signed on comprehensive strategic cooperation between the two countries. The agreement included the following articles:(7)
* Iran will finance Syria's purchase of weapons from Russia, Belarus, and North Korea, and will allocate $1 billion to the acquisition of 400 state-of-the-art Russian T-72 tanks, 18 Mig-31 jets, eight Sukhoi-24 bombers, and a number of Mig-8 helicopters.
* In Syria, an industrial concern will be established by the Iranian aircraft and space industry for the production of medium-range missiles.
* Factories for the production of missile launches for Nur, Arash, and Nazeat missiles will be established.
* The Syrian army will receive Al-Barqa armored vehicles and Zolfaqar tanks produced in Iran.
* The Syrian navy will receive C801 and C802 missiles manufactured in Iran, which are identical to Chinese surface-to-surface missiles.
* Syrian navy and air force officers will be trained in Iran.
* Syria will receive technological aid relating to nuclear research and chemical weapons.
According to the paper, Ahmadinejad "undertook a commitment to support the Syrian position [vis-à-vis the political crisis] in Lebanon, to try to prevent the assembly of the Lebanese parliament [slated for September 25, 2007] designed to elect a new president, and to continue attempts to overthrow the [present] Lebanese government. In return, Damascus is expected to pledge not to enter into a peace process with Israel.(8) Ahmadinejad further stressed that his government would not conduct negotiations on the future of Lebanon without Syria's consent and blessing. As for Iraq, Syria expressed greater willingness to maintain relations with the Al-Maliki government. At the same time, the two countries resolved to broaden their resistance to the U.S. and its partners in Iraq, in order to force it to withdraw."(9) Rebuttals to the Al-Sharq Al-Awsat report appeared in the Iranian press. For example, a July 22, 2007 editorial by the daily Kayhan, which is affiliated with Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, stated that "Al-Sharq Al-Awsat is one of the principal defenders of U.S. policy in the Middle East."(10) Senior advisor to Ahmadinejad, Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi, likewise dismissed the report, saying that "the lives of Zionists will not be lengthened by the false information that they are disseminating."(11) About one month before the 2006 Lebanon-Israel war, on June 16, 2006, Nourizadeh published, also in Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, an item on a military cooperation agreement between Iran and Syria, thus tightening military ties between the two. The agreement was signed at the end of a visit to Tehran by a delegation of Syrian military and intelligence officers, headed by Syrian Defense Minister Hassan Turkmani, which met with Iranian Defense Minister Najar and senior Iranian security officials. The agreement stipulated that Iran would fund Syria's purchase of military equipment from Russia, China, and Ukraine, and would train Syrian navy personnel. Syria, in turn, would continue to permit the flow of Iranian military aid to Hizbullah in Lebanon to pass through its territory. Nourizadeh also reported that the two ministers had decided to establish an open channel between Syria and Iran for consultation and contacts on military and security issues. Nourazideh went on to state that, in a press conference following the signing of the agreement, Turkmani announced that Iran and Syria "presented a unified front against Israel's threats," stressing that "Iran viewed Syrian security as a [safeguard for] its own security."(12) In December 2006, Nourizadeh reported on the establishment, in Damascus, of an Iranian Revolutionary Guards base.(13) Iran Places Its Defense Resources at Syria's Disposal On a March 10, 2007 Damascus visit, a high-ranking Iranian security delegation headed by Najar met with Assad, Turkmani, and Syrian Chief of Staff Ali Habib, and toured Syrian military and industrial facilities. During the visit, Najar and Turkmani signed a protocol on defense cooperation,(14) which included "developing and strengthening defense and security ties, safeguarding regional security [by the countries of the region], and [ensuring] uninterrupted consultation in order to uphold the interests of the two countries."(15) During the visit, Najar declared that Iran was placing all its defense capabilities at Syria's disposal, and added that the discussions between the two sides during this visit had focused on weapons manufacturing cooperation and on strengthening Syria's defense capabilities. Turkmani, on his part, stated that the discussions had concerned "an exchange of technological know-how for weapons manufacturing and for conducting the necessary training, along with [other] military, defense, and political issues." He reiterated statements by his Iranian counterpart that "Iran's defense resources are at Syria's disposal." Turkmani added, "Relations between the two countries are strategic, and hence their actions are aimed at developing cooperation between the two armies and at strengthening their defense capability, so as to face the conspiracies of the enemies which are targeting the region in general, and Iran and Syria in particular."(16) In early June 2007, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki remarked during a visit to Damascus that in the event of a military attack on Syria by the U.S. or Israel, "Iran will stand by Syria's side with all its options and capabilities."(17) In April 2007, a high-ranking Syrian military delegation headed by Yahya Suleiman, director of Iran's National Defense Institute, paid a one-week visit to Iran. In a meeting with Iranian Deputy Chief of Staff Hassani Sadi, Suleiman stressed the need to expand Iranian-Syrian military cooperation. In addition, the Syrian delegation held discussions with Iranian Revolutionary Guards Commander Yahya Rahim Safavi and Iranian Defense Minister Najar. The delegation visited military bases, and observed the Iranian Defense Ministry's military capabilities.(18) Click here to read the full article. <http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=IA38007>
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