TEHRAN -- Iran’s President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday talked to President Bashar al-Assad of Syria over the phone, saying his administration will spare no effort to further strengthen strategic relationship with Damascus.
Pezeshkian said relations between Iran and Syria are built on a solid foundation, and that the development of cooperation is a strategic policy of the Islamic Republic.
“Our entire effort is to continue this strategy with strength and to further solidify the relationship between the two sides.”
He referred to existing cooperation agreements between the two countries and emphasized his commitment to operationalizing these pacts.
“The policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran, under the guidance and leadership of the Leader, are based on supporting Palestine, the resistance movement, and the nation and government of Syria as Iran’s strategic ally,” he said.
“I hope that the unity and friendship between Iran and Syria and all Islamic countries will be strengthened day by day.”
Assad congratulated Pezeshkian on his electoral victory and wished him success in undertaking this significant national responsibility.
“Relations between Iran and Syria are very strong and based on mutual support during difficult days; just as Syria supported Iran during the imposed war (of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein), Iran also supported us during the imposed internal war in Syria,” Assad said.
Assad said the relationship between Iran and Syria is the main factor preventing the imposition of foreign dominance in the region.
“With your cooperation, we will strive to further strengthen and solidify this relationship.”
Separately, Pezeshkian and Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro affirmed their  resolve to enhance strategic partnership between the two nations and underscored close ties between Tehran and Caracas.
Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Yván Gil said in a bilingual post on his X social media account that Maduro had in a phone conversation congratulated Pezeshkian on his election victory.
The two sides also placed a premium on the “fraternal nature” of relations between their nations.
“Both presidents expressed their desire to continue cooperation in order to promote long-term strategic relations and pledged to hold a high-level meeting in the near future in a bid to proceed with joint cooperation and development plans,” Gil said in his post.
The Venezuelan government on Saturday felicitated the people of Iran

 for their commitment to democracy in the runoff vote that resulted in Pezeshkian’s win.
Maduro expressed his “absolute support” for the new Iranian chief executive in efforts to continue deepening the fraternal relations between the two allied countries.
“Venezuela expresses its conviction that the decision made by the Iranian people will contribute to the prosperity of this nation, as well as its consolidation as an emerging power of the nascent multipolar world,” he added.
The veteran cardiac surgeon-cum-parliamentarian will be inaugurated on July 30 in the presence of top-ranking Iranian officials and international guests in the capital Tehran.
Iran has close ties with several Latin American states, including Venezuela, in different fields and seeks to further deepen those relations.