Baku, Azerbaijan, June 22
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Iran and Syria signed a memorandum of understanding to combat terrorism and narcotics and boost border security.
Iranian Interior Minister Abdorreza Rahmani Fazli signed the MOU with the visiting Syrian Interior Minister Mohammad Ibrahim al-Shaar in Tehran, Iran 's Mehr news agency reported June 22.
The MOU also calls for boosting border security and trade.
On the sidelines of the signing ceremony, the Iranian minister said a trilateral meeting will be held by Iran, Syria, and Iraq in the city of Baghdad to expand cooperation on combating terrorism in the region and reinforcing the "resistance front" against the IS (Islamic State) group.
The Syrian minister, for his part, said that the two sides discussed other issues, such as illegal migration and organized crimes.
Iran is a close ally of the Syrian government and has always shown its support for the regime of President Bashar Assad.
Syrian opposition claim that Iranian military forces are fighting against them, while Iran dismisses the claims, saying that Iran only has advisors in Syria, to transfer its military experience to the Syrian army.
During the conflict in Syria, which began in March 2011, more than 150,000 people have been killed in the country and over 4.2 million have become refugees in Syrian territory and two million have fled to neighboring countries.
Edited by CN