(Image source: BBC )

BY FERDOUS AL-FARUQUE

ANCHOR CHRISTINA HARTMAN

After weeks of absence from the public eye, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad made an appearance on Syrian TV a day after his prime minister defected. Britain’s Sky News has this report :

Sky: “The broadcast on Syrian TV appears to show Assad meeting Iran’s security chief. At the meeting in Damascus he said he will purge the country of terrorists.”

Iran is Syria’s closest ally in the region, and according to Reuters, Western officials say the Islamic regime has been giving the Syrian government military support . As the BBC reports, Iran vowed to defend its alliance with Syria during Tuesday’s meeting.

BBC: “The head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, who is visiting Damascus has described Syria as an essential part of the axis of resistance which will not be allowed to be broken.”

The meeting between Assad and Saeed Jalili comes three days after Iran says Syrian rebels took 48 Iranians hostage .

AJE: “The Iranian government insists they are Shiite pilgrims but Syria's rebels say they are from Iran's elite revolutionary guards. Either way, it's a big day for Tehran as they try to free them.”

Syrian rebels insist that Tehran has sent Iranian forces to fight alongside Syrian soldiers and the pilgrimage was a cover. As proof, the rebels broadcast military IDs they say the Iranians were carrying. But as the Telegraph’s David Blair points out :

Blair: “… any Iranian who has performed compulsory military service will hold these documents: they do not prove current membership of the country's armed forces.”

The Syrian rebels say three of the hostages have already died after they were shelled by the army and the rebels are threatening to kill the rest if the shelling does not stop. Iran has asked U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to negotiate the release of the hostages and the New York Times reports :

NYT: “In an unusual move, Iran’s Foreign Ministry announced it had sent a diplomatic note to the Obama administration saying that ‘due to its open support for Syrian terrorist groups’ the United States was responsible for the safety of the abducted Iranians.”

While Jalili was meeting with Assad in Syria, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi was in Turkey to ask the Turks to pressure the Syrians to release the hostages. According to the BBC’s Jonathan Marcus, “this burst of Iranian diplomacy” is as much about regional politics as it is about the hostages. He says:

Marcus: “The ultimate fall of the Assad regime could leave Iran dangerously isolated. Its diplomatic activism is an effort to underscore that whatever happens it remains an essential regional player.”