Ahmadinejad, Assad Cement the Iran-Syria Axis

(Feb. 25) -- In a firm rebuke to a U.S. initiative to enlist Syria in the international effort to isolate Iran, the leaders of the two Middle Eastern countries made a show Thursday of deepening their relationship.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited his Syrian counterpart, Bashar Assad, in Damascus and signed an agreement scrapping visa requirements between the two countries.

Just a day after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described "a slight opening" to Syria for the U.S. to build on -- and a week after the White House named the first American ambassador to Syria in five years -- the two leaders suggested Washington is only driving their countries closer together.

"I find it strange how they talk about Middle East stability and at the same time talk about dividing two countries," Assad told reporters when asked about Clinton's comments, according to The Associated Press. Assad archly wondered whether he and Ahmadinejad had "misunderstood, maybe because of translation error or limited understanding."

In testimony Wednesday on Capitol Hill, Clinton suggested the ambassadorial appointment and recent visits by U.S. officials to Syria could lay the foundation for cooperation, "but there are a lot of issues between our government and the Syrian government."

As Iran's closest partner in the region, Syria is a key target as Washington tries to increase diplomatic pressure to get Tehran to forgo what the West suspects are its efforts to produce nuclear weaponry. Washington also wants Syrian cooperation on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and in Lebanon, where Hezbollah has been thriving with Syrian and Iranian sponsorship.

Clinton on Wednesday told senators the U.S. is hoping Syria will "begin to move away from the relationship with Iran." Before a House committee on Thursday, she said the administration's attempt to engage Iran "has exposed for the world to see its refusal to live up to its responsibility."

Clinton added, "We are now working actively with other countries to prepare and implement new measures to pressure Iran to change course."

Washington still has some leverage over Syria, which under Assad has been trying to attract foreign business partners, investment and tourism. Assad would also like American support for Syria's bid to get back the Golan Heights, territory seized by Israel during the 1967 war and later annexed.

The U.S. maintains unilateral sanctions against Damascus, which are tied to Syrian support for Hamas and Hezbollah, Syria's alleged work on weapons of mass destruction and its support for Iraqi insurgents during the most violent phase of the war in Iraq. Those sanctions, first put in place under President George W. Bush, were renewed by the Obama administration last spring.

But Assad rejected American diplomacy on Iran as "a new situation of colonialism in the region," while Ahmadinejad seemed to take pleasure in their show of unity against the U.S.

"There is nothing that could harm these brotherly relations," Ahmadinejad said. "With each passing day, these relations will improve and deepen."