West needs Iran, Syria's help - Ahmadinejad

IRAN: Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday that Western countries are in dire need of Iran and Syria's cooperation and assistance, the official IRNA news agency reported. At a joint press conference with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad, Ahmadinejad said that "Iran and Syria stand in a united front" and the West strongly needs to cooperate with them, drawing upon Iran and Syria's key roles in regional issues.

The Syrian President is in Tehran for a one-day official visit.

Ahmadinejad referred to the "resistance and perseverance of regional nations against the West's adventurism" and said that " the West tries to stop the trend in the region but ...the regional nations will emerge victorious due to their spirit of resistance.

For his part, Assad congratulated Ahmadinejad on his re- election of president, saying "I am sure that from now on, doors of the international community will be wide open to Iran and Syria. "

He condemned foreign intervention in Iran's internal affairs, saying that "the main purpose of the interference of enemies and the West in Iran's internal affairs is to prevent Iran and Syria from gaining consecutive victories in the next four years."

Tehran, Thursday, Xinhua