Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah while on a state visit to the Syrian capital of Damascus on Thursday, witnesses said.

Ahmadinejad welcomed what he called Hezbollah's victory over Israel in last summer's war in Lebanon and called for a similar "victory" this summer.

Iran and Syria are main backers of Hezbollah, a Shi'ite group that fought a war with Israel last year and holds two Israel Defense Forces soldiers it wants to exchange for Arab prisoners held by Israel.

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Syria has denied Western accusations of an alleged flow through its territory of Iranian-supplied weapons to Hezbollah, which the United States considers a terrorist group but Damascus and Tehran regard as a resistance movement.

Ahmadinejad, championing Iran's nuclear programme despite
UN sanctions, also met Hamas leader Khaled Meshal and members of the Palestinian group's politburo-in-exile in Syria during his one-day visit.

"Ahmadinejad promised to keep up the support for the Palestinian people, Hamas and the efforts to initiate a Palestinian dialogue after the latest events in Gaza," senior Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq told Reuters.

Although Syria's isolation by the West has eased in recent months, Damascus has shown no signs of curbing its ties with Tehran as Israel and Washington demand.

During his visit, Ahmadinejad also warned "the enemies of the region" to abandon their hostile plans or risk being "burned."

"The enemies of the region should abandon plans to attack the interests of this region, or they would be burned by the wrath of the region's peoples," Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said at a joint press conference with Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Ahmadinejad described Syrian-Iranian relations as "amicable, excellent and extremely deep," adding that the two countries have common stands towards the region's issues.

"Talks covered the situation in Iraq, which is a priority for the region in general, Palestine and the latest development in the Palestinian arena, and ways of restoring dialogue among all Palestinian factions," Assad said.

In a final statement wrapping up the one-day visit to Syria, the two sides said Iran's nuclear activities must be handled by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The statement said the two sides stressed the "fixed right of the countries (adhering to) the non-proliferation treaty to the peaceful use of nuclear power."

The two sides also voiced support for the Iraqi government and underlined the necessity to preserve Iraq's territorial unity.

They also called for the departure of all occupation forces, and expressed support to all efforts that aim to achieve security, stability and national reconciliation in Iraq.

The Syrian and Iranian presidents urged all Palestinian factions to return to dialogue to preserve the unity of the Palestinian people.

Ahmadinejad, accompanied by a high-level delegation, was greeted at Damascus airport by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem ahead of the official reception by Assad at the People's Palace later Thursday. Assad was sworn in Tuesday for a second seven-year term.

Syria is Iran's closest Arab ally. The two countries have had close relations since 1980 when Syria sided with Iran against Iraq in the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. Both countries face U.S. accusations of fueling violence in Iraq, supporting Hezbollah, which Washington labels a terrorist organization. They are also accused of supporting anti-Israeli militant Palestinian groups, like the Islamic Hamas.

The two have growing economic ties, with the annual two-way trade estimated at about $200 million. Iranian companies have invested more than $1 billion in Syria, in sectors such as power generation, automobiles, cement and agriculture, Syrian newspapers reported Thursday.

Syria's most important exports to Iran are cotton and textiles, olive oil and fruits. Iranian exports to Syria are mainly industrial equipment, spare parts, chemicals and locomotives.

More than half a million Iranian tourists visit Syria annually, touring Shiite Muslim religious sites.

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