Syrian president, officials meet with Iranian culture minister

President Hafez al-Assad, received Thursday at al-Chaab palace in Damascus Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Attallah Muhajirani and members of the accompanying delegation.

Talks dealt with developments in the region and the escalated tension in Afghanistan and the grave consequences of this tension. Muhajirani expressed his country's satisfaction with Syria's positions during the talks he held in Damascus with Syrian officials and with the developed relations between the two countries.

Earlier in the day, Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam met with the Iranian Minister and his delegation. Talks dealt with Israel's objectives and the consequences of Israeli policy on the region's security and stability.

Viewpoints were similar concerning the great harm resulting from the Turkish - Israeli relations on the Islamic states and on Turkey itself.

An analysis was made of the factors behind the assassination of the Iranian diplomats in Afghanistan. The two sides agreed that this act aimed at undermining the Islamic world, misinterpreting Islam and opening the way before expanding Israeli hegemony.