Saudi Arabia rejigs ties with Syria’s Sharaa with delegation meet, Iran still has ‘no direct contact’

A Saudi delegation has met with Syria’s new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus while Iran said on Monday that it had “no direct contact” with Syria’s new leadership.

According to AFP, citing a source close to the government on Monday, the delegation joins a list of visitors to the Syrian capital since the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, led by Sharaa, spearheaded the toppling of president Bashar al-Assad on December 8.

The “Saudi senior delegation met Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus yesterday discussing (the) Syria situation and captagon”, AFP quoted the source as saying, referring to the illegal synthentic stimulant that has flooded the region from Syria.

Meanwhile, while Iran affirmed its support for Syria’s sovereignty on Monday, foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said that  Iran had “no direct contact” with Syria’s new rulers.

“Our principled position on Syria is very clear: preserving the sovereignty and integrity of Syria and for the people of Syria to decide on its future without destructive foreign interference,” AFP quoted Baqaei as saying in a weekly press briefing.

He added that the country should not “become a haven for terrorism,” saying such an outcome would have “repercussions” for countries in the region.

Saudi Arabia severed ties with Bashar al-Assad’s government in 2012 and backed Syrian rebels seeking to overthrow him early in the country’s civil war.

But last year, Riyadh restored ties with Assad’s government and was instrumental in Syria’s return to the Arab League, ending its regional isolation.

Saudi Arabia has become a major market for captagon, an addictive drug for which there is huge demand in the fossil fuel-rich Gulf.

The amphetamine-like narcotic was Syria’s largest export under Assad, turning the country into one of the world’s biggest narco states.

Al-Assad fled Syria earlier this month as the Military Operations Administration led by “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham” (HTS) entered the capital Damascus after a lightning offensive.

The takeover by HTS - proscribed as a terrorist organisation by many governments including the United States - has sparked concern, though the group has in recent years sought to moderate its image.

Headed by Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria’s new leader and an ardent opponent of Iran, the group has spoken out against the Islamic Republic’s influence in Syria under al-Assad.

Tehran helped prop up al-Assad during Syria’s long civil war, providing him with military advisers.

Al-Sharaa has received a host of foreign delegations since coming to power.

He met on Sunday with Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan, and on Monday with Jordan’s top diplomat Ayman Safadi.

On Friday, the United States’ top diplomat for the Middle East Barbara Leaf held a meeting with al-Sharaa, later saying she expected Syria would completely end any role for Iran in its affairs.

A handful of European delegations have also visited in recent days.

With inputs from agencies