TEHRAN, Jan 8, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on
Wednesday called for the withdrawal of Israel from Syrian territory following
the fall of long-time Tehran ally Bashar al-Assad.

His remarks came during a visit to Tehran by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed
Shia al-Sudani where discussions covered topics such as trade, cooperation,
and recent developments in Syria.

"The need for the Zionist regime to withdraw from the territories it occupied
and the importance of respecting religious sentiments (in Syria),
particularly regarding Shiite holy places and shrines, were among the
concerns," said Pezeshkian in a briefing alongside Sudani.

The Iranian president also warned of the "reactivation of terrorist cells" in
Syria.

Assad fled Syria after rebel forces led by the Sunni Islamist group Hayat
Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) captured the capital Damascus after a whirlwind
offensive.

Since his fall, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes on Syrian
military facilities, saying they aimed to prevent strategic weapons from
falling into hostile hands.

Israeli troops also occupied strategic positions in a UN-patrolled buffer
zone separating Syrian-controlled territory and the Israeli-annexed Golan
Heights which Israel seized from Syria in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and has
occupied ever since.

Iran has condemned Israel's seizure of land in Syria and called for its
withdrawal.

During the visit, Sudani affirmed Iraq's respect for "the will of the Syrian
people and support for any political or constitutional system they choose
themselves without external interference."

He also noted Iraq's "readiness to cooperate with all parties ... to achieve
a smooth peaceful transition to a system that reflects the will of the Syrian
people."