Iran's president says West needs Iran, Syria's help

by Mehdi Bagheri

TEHRAN, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday that Western countries are in dire need of Iran and Syria's cooperation and assistance, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad arrives at the airport in Teheran, capital of Iran, on Aug. 19, 2009. Bashar al-Assad started his visit to Iran on Wednesday.(Xinhua/Ahmad Halabisaz)

At a joint press conference with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad, Ahmadinejad said that "Iran and Syria stand in a united front" and the West strongly needs to cooperate with them, drawing upon Iran and Syria's key roles in regional issues.

The Syrian President is in Tehran for a one-day official visit.

Ahmadinejad referred to the "resistance and perseverance of regional nations against the West's adventurism" and said that "the West tries to stop the trend in the region but ...the regional nations will emerge victorious due to their spirit of resistance and they (West countries) have already suffered a big defeat."

For his part, Assad congratulated Ahmadinejad on his re-election of president, saying "I am sure that from now on, doors of the international community will be wide open to Iran and Syria."