Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will travel to Damascus on Wednesday at the official invitation of his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad for a two-day visit that Tehran considers "very important", Iranian state media said.
Iran's ambassador to Syria Hossein Akbari was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying that "Dr. Raisi's visit to Damascus on Wednesday is very important given the changes and developments taking place in the region," where Raisi is accompanied by a high-level economic and political delegation.
According to Akbari, the visit "will not only be beneficial for Tehran and Damascus, but will be a good event that will benefit other countries in the region," he said.
Raisi's visit to Syria will be the first by an Iranian president to Damascus in 13 years, and the last Iranian president to visit the Syrian capital was Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in September 2010.
Raisi's visit to Syria comes amid regional diplomatic moves that have changed the region's political landscape since Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to resume ties last month.
It also coincides with an Arab, especially Saudi openness, towards Damascus, which has been boycotted by several Arab countries since 2011.
Iran is a key ally of Damascus and has provided political, economic and military support since 2011.