Ynet – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad praised the Syrian leadership’s handling of a year-long uprising in which thousands have died, saying Tehran would do everything it could to support its closest Arab ally, Iranian media reported on Tuesday.
Shiite Muslim Iran backed popular uprisings which have removed leaders in Egypt, Libya and Yemen but has steadfastly supported Syrian President Bashar Assad, who is a member of the minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.
“I am very happy that Syrian officials are managing the situation well … I hope the situation in Syria improves day after day,” the official IRNA news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying during talks with Assad’s special envoy, Faisal Meqdad.