Iran welcomes Syria’s readmission into Arab League

ISTANBUL

Iran on Monday welcomed a decision to reinstate Syria’s membership in the Arab League after 12 years of suspension.

On Sunday, Arab foreign ministers agreed to readmit Syria to the pan-Arab body, after its membership was suspended in 2011 following the regime’s brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

"Islamic countries' settling disagreements and converging bring about positive outcomes and prepare the ground for preventing foreign interference in regional issues," Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said in statements cited by state news agency IRNA.

Iran has been a staunch supporter of the Bashar al-Assad regime throughout the country’s civil war.

The decision to reinstate Syria's membership came ahead of the annual Arab summit in Saudi Arabia on May 19.

The Syrian regime has recently begun to exchange official visits and contacts with several Arab countries in recent months.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara