Bashar al-Assad: Iran deal is ‘great victory’

“I am happy that the Islamic Republic of Iran has achieved a great victory by reaching an agreement”, President Bashar al-Assad of Syria said in a message to his Iranian opposite number, Hassan Rouhani.

Turkey welcomed the nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers on Tuesday, saying it was of vital importance for the stability of the Middle East, but urged Tehran to rethink its policies on issues from Syria to Yemen.

Israel and the Sunni Arab world have set aside old grievances to stand together against the West’s engagement with Iran. Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, said the country would not be bound by what he called a “stunning historic mistake”.

Richardson, who is also a former US energy secretary, said he was particularly concerned about Iran’s demands that the United Nations lift an arms embargo against Iran on conventional weapons as part of a final deal. “Iran continues to seek our destruction and we will defend ourselves”.

As for the impact on the world economy, Richardson said he believes crude prices would plunge as the lifting of sanctions would allow Iran to put more of the oil into a market that is already oversupplied by about 2.6 million barrels per day.

Turkey’s imports from Iran were almost $10 billion in 2014 and its exports totaled around $4 billion.

Shi’ite power Iran has provided crucial financial and diplomatic support for Assad and has sent military advisers to Syria while backing fighters from Lebanese Shi’ite group Hezbollah and other militiamen involved in the conflict.

Saudi Arabia and its many allies have battled for a long time for influence with Iran.

In a separate message to Rouhani, Assad said the coming days will would see momentum in the “constructive role” played by Iran in supporting “the rights of people”.

“Iran will remain in conflict with Saudi Arabia in Syria and Yemen in particular”, he said.