Syria and Iran strengthen strategic partnership with long-term oil and trade agreements.

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi and Syria's President Bashar al-Assad have signed a series of long-term cooperation agreements on oil and other sectors to bolster economic ties between the two countries. The deals are important for Syria, whose economy has hit an all-time low over the past decade. Tehran has been a main backer of al-Assad's government since a 2011 uprising turned into fully fledged war and has played an instrumental role in turning the tide of the conflict in his favour.