TEHRAN, March 16: The presidents of Iran and Syria met on Sunday, stressed their opposition to war in Iraq and called on Washington to heed public opposition to military action, Iran’s state media reported.

Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad flew to Iran for an unannounced visit on Sunday and immediately went into talks with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Khatami.

Iran and Syria, which both border Iraq, are staunch critics of US policy in the Middle East and are publicly opposed to a US-led war on Iraq.

In their meeting Assad and Khatami “emphasized that a reconciliatory solution to the Iraq crisis be sought within the framework of UN resolutions,” IRNA news agency reported.

Both men “voiced their opposition to any military interference” in Iraq and “called on US officials to pay attention to public opinion”, it said.

Assad, who cancelled a planned visit to Tehran in January, was accompanied by Vice-President Abdel-Halim Khaddam and Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara, Iranian radio said.

He was due to meet Iran’s most powerful political figure — Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — later on Sunday before returning to Damascus, IRNA said.—Reuters