Senior Syrian Diplomat Meets Zarif

Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad met Iran's top diplomat, Mohammad Javad Zarif. In the Monday meeting in Tehran, the two officials discussed bilateral relations and the latest political and military developments in Syria. Since 2011, the Arab country has been the scene of a standoff between the Syrian Army and foreign-backed militants fighting to bring down the government. Mekdad and Zarif stressed the need for more consultations to help remove obstacles to the political settlement of the crisis, Fars News Agency reported. They also discussed the situation in Aleppo, the second biggest Syrian city, where the Syrian Army and militants have been engaged in a fierce battle in recent months. Iran provides the Syrian Army with advisory services in its fight against the self-styled Islamic State and Al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra (recently rebranded to Jabhat Fateh al-Sham) terrorist groups.