Syrian-Iranian meetings delayed due to Iraq crisis

Syrian diplomatic sources said that the delegation which was supposed to visit Tehran, including Syrian Vice President Abdel Halim Khaddam and Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa was delayed for few days until the picture concerning the Iraqi crisis becomes clear.

The sources stated that Tehran and Damascus did not want to give the impression of the formation of an announced bilateral or trilateral alliance aligning them with Iraq in opposition to the U.S. in the Middle East.

The source said that they delayed the meetings of the Syrian - Iranian high committee, scheduled to be held last Monday in Tehran under the chairmanship of Khaddam and his Iranian counterpart Dr. Hassen Habibi, with Syrian Foreign Minster Fraouk al-Sharaa and his Iranian counterpart Kamal Kharazi to discuss political coordination and the economic cooperation between the two countries.