Iranians Flock to Syria

Photographs by IWPR-trained reporter.

IWPR

Friday, 19 March, 2010

Iranians Flock to Syria

Photographs by IWPR-trained reporter.

Iranian women walk in front of the gate of Umayyad mosque, in Damascus, March 2010.

Iranian women walk in front of the gate of Umayyad mosque, in Damascus, March 2010.

Hundreds of thousands of Iranians visit Syria every year for religious tourism, recreation or business. Their growing numbers reflects the close political and strategic ties between the Iranian and Syrian leadership. Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made a ceremonial appearance in Damascus on February 25 with his Syrian counterpart, Bashar al-Assad. The mini-summit between the two presidents was an apparent assertion of the robustness of bilateral relations in the face of continuing calls from the United States and the West for Damascus to sever its ties with Tehran.

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