Iranian Economic Aid To Syria Negligible

WASHINGTON [MENL] -- Iranian aid to Syria has been deemed negligible, with little benefit to the regime of President Bashar Assad.
A report by the Middle East Review of International Affairs, or MERIA,
asserted that Iran and Syria were bound by strategic interests. Still, the
report, authored by Nimrod Raphaeli and Bianca Gersten, said Iran's economic
aid to Syria remained severely limited.
"The alliance is driven first and foremost by political and strategic
interests rather than by economic considerations," the report, titled "The
Iran-Syria Alliance: The Economic Dimension," said. "What Iran can spare in
terms of economic aid can hardly meet Syria's needs in boosting its economy,
nor can it generate employment for an equally high rate of unemployment,
particularly among its youth."