Syria, Iran form ‘united front’

Syria and Iran formed an impromptu alliance yesterday by announcing a “united front” against economic sanctions by the United States and other “common threats.”

The move came amid growing pressure from Washington on the two militant Muslim nations, including a decision Tuesday to recall its ambassador to Syria after the assassination of a former Lebanese prime minister.

“In view of the special conditions faced by Syria, Iran will transfer its experience, especially concerning sanctions, to Syria,” Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref was quoted by wire services as saying.

“At this sensitive point, the two countries require a united front due to numerous challenges,” he said.

Mr. Aref spoke yesterday after a meeting with Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Naji Otari in Tehran.

Syria maintains 15,000 troops in Lebanon despite repeated demands by the United States, United Nations and others to withdraw. Washington accuses Tehran of making an atomic bomb.

Both countries are blacklisted by Washington as state sponsors of terrorism and are subject to economic sanctions.

Washington has banned U.S. companies from doing business in Iran.

The Syria Accountability Act, which Congress passed in May, halted all U.S. exports to Syria except for food and medicine, as well as flights between the two countries.

Some on Capitol Hill have been pushing for even tougher sanctions on Syria, including the prohibition of all U.S. investment.

Mr. Otari said the future of the Iran-Syria relationship is “brilliant, despite the American threats.”

“The challenges we face in Syria and Iran require us to be in one front to confront all the challenges imposed by others,” he said.

The White House said the two countries’ problems are bigger than the United States.

“It is a fundamental misreading of the issue, because their problem is not with the United States ” it’s with the international community,” spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters traveling with President Bush to New Hampshire.

“Both Syria and Iran have international obligations, and they need to abide by the commitments they have made to the international community,” he said.

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