Iran vows support to Syrian leadership

Beirut (Lebanon), April 1 (IANS) Iran has said it 'would not spare any effort to' support the Syrian leadership.

The Islamic Republic's sentiments were conveyed Saturday by Iranian deputy foreign minister Hussein Amir Abdollahian during his visit to Lebanon, Xinhua reported.

'The Islamic Republic of Iran would not spare any effort to embrace the Syrian Arab Republic and support its leadership, regime and people in the direction that would preserve its resistance role against aggression and the Zionist state,' said the Iranian deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs.

He said it after a meeting with Lebanese Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour on bilateral and regional issues.

'The only solution to the Syrian crisis is the political process and nothing else,' Abdollahian said, noting that Iran had made efforts 'to help Mr. Kofi Annan succeed in his Syrian mission. '

Annan, former UN secretary general, was delegated last month as the joint special envoy of the UN and Arab League to mediate a solution to the Syrian crisis.

Abdollahian met Friday with Lebanese President Michel Suleiman and handed him a letter from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad confirming 'Iran's permanent support for Lebanon in various fields and at all levels,' according to a report by the state-run National News Agency.