Mr Al Assad is using the visit to shore up international support. While its main ally, Tehran, demands more from Damascus, Syria has failed to meaningfully act on recent rapprochements with Arab nations, said Dr Karam Shaar, senior fellow at the Washington-based New Lines Institute think tank. “The only other country meaningfully backing Syria economically is Iran,” Dr Shaar told The National. “Bashar now knows Iran is trying to squeeze more concessions out of him and his regime in exchange for continued support, and now the regime is trying to find alternative backers.”
