Damascus: Ebrahim Raisi, the president of Iran, arrived in Damascus on Wednesday, making history as the nation's first head of state to visit in more than ten years.

Since a protest turned into a full-fledged war in March 2011, Tehran has been a major supporter of President Bashar Assad's administration and has significantly shifted the balance of power in his favour.

Iran has sent thousands of fighters from all over the Middle East to fight alongside Assad, as well as a significant number of military advisers. In recent years, Syrian government forces have had significant territorial control thanks to assistance from Russia and Iran.

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Raisi is anticipated to meet Assad during his two-day visit and sign several agreements and memorandums of understanding to strengthen cooperation, according to Syrian state and pro-government media. Raisi advocated for reconstruction efforts and the repatriation of refugees who fled the country's war in an interview with the pan-Arab television network Al-Mayadeen.

Syrian Economy Minister Samer Al-Khalil welcomed Raisi upon his arrival at Damascus International Airport. Raisi is leading a high-ranking political and economic delegation.

He also plans to go to the shrines of Sayida Zeinab and Sayida Ruqayya, both of which are revered by Shiite Muslims, as well as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a memorial to Syrian soldiers who died in action.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, was the most recent leader to travel to Syria in 2010.

The visit of the Iranian president coincides with an opening up of some Arab nations, including regional heavyweights Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and recent visits to Damascus by their foreign ministers. In April, the Syrian foreign minister made his first trip to Saudi Arabia since the two nations severed ties in 2012. He also paid a visit to the Saudi capital of Riyadh.

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After seven years of hostilities, Iran and Saudi Arabia—a major financier of Syrian opposition fighters—agreed to reestablish diplomatic ties and reopen embassies in China in March.

The region's states, including Syria, where the two nations waged proxy wars are likely to benefit from the reconciliation between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Due to Assad's brutal crackdown on protesters, Syria was widely shunned by Arab governments. The breakdown in relations culminated in Syria's expulsion from the Arab League in 2011. Since the beginning of the conflict, nearly 500,000 people have died and half of Syria's pre-war population of 23 million have been displaced.

The new Iranian ambassador to Syria, Hossein Akbari, told Iran's state news agency on Tuesday that "America and its allies failed on all fronts against the resistance, and could not achieve any of their goals."

The last time an Iranian president visited Damascus was in 2010, when Hassan Rouhani travelled to Syria. Since the start of the conflict, Assad has made two trips to Iran, the most recent of which was in May of last year.

A week prior to the Iranian president's visit, Mehrdad Bazrpash, the country's minister for road and urban development, met with Assad in Damascus and gave him a message from the Iranian leader endorsing the development of economic ties between the two nations, according to Iran's state news agency.

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Israel has vowed to prevent Iranian entrenchment along its northern border as a result of Iran's military presence in Syria. In recent years, Israel has launched hundreds of strikes on government-controlled areas of Syria, but it rarely acknowledges them. Syrian officials have blamed Israel for 12 strikes on Syrian territory since the beginning of 2023; the most recent occurred early on Tuesday and put the international airport of the northern city of Aleppo under attack.