Hossein Shariatmadari, associate of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and editor of the Iranian daily Kayhan, said there would be "essential changes" in Iran-Syria relations if Syria signed a peace agreement with Israel and recognized it.
He said that Iran did not recognize the state called Israel in the region, and noted that Syria or Turkey's conducting talks with "this illegal and nonexistent state" was not to Tehran's liking.
He added that the Hamas and Hizbullah talks with Israel were essentially different, because these organizations, like Iran, did not recognize Israel's existence.
It was reported also that Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki would arrive in Damascus on Thursday, July 17, for talks with the Syrian leadership.
Source: Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, London, July 14, 2008
