From the Jerusalem Post:
Syria has expressed interest in purchasing weapons from Iran, including scud and anti-aircraft missiles, rocket launchers, Russian T-27 tanks, and even fighter planes. Meanwhile, Syrian Defense Minister Gen. Hassan Turkemani signed a mutual cooperation deal on Thursday with his Iranian counterpart General Mustafa Muhammad Najar.
The writer may have his/her numbers reversed in the paragraph above: The T-27 is a WWII-vintage model, while the T-72Z Safir-74, according to the Federation of American Scientists, is “an Iranian upgrade to the T-54/[T-55] that may have been applied to Iraqi T-54s captured in the Iran-Iraq War.”
“The two countries’ armed forces must be prepared to face the common enemy that has been working to undermine stability and cause regional tension,” Turkemani said.
Seems like an awful lot of fanfare for some recycled tanks, scud missiles, and such.
Among his visits in the Islamic Republic, he met with the Iranian chief of staff and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and toured a local aircraft factory.
Syrian sources told the London-based Al Hayat that the understandings were of a strictly defensive nature. They indicated that both countries have been targeted recently [by Western powers].
After a meeting between the two senior officials, the Iranian Defense Ministry issued a statement saying that Teheran was interested in strengthening cooperation against “American and Israeli threats.” It also noted that the two countries should struggle to bring peace and stability in the region and disarm it from weapons of mass destruction.