Iran will lay out $1 billion to procure for Syria advanced weapons and assist it in nuclear research and the development of chemical weapons, according to a report published yesterday in the London-based daily Al-Shark al-Awsat.

The reports says the strategic cooperation agreement between Damascus and Tehran was signed during the visit late last week by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Syria. The report describes the cooperation between the countries as including military, economic, scientific and technical aspects.

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The military cooperation includes Iranian funding for the procurement from Russia of MiG-31 fighter planes, Sukhoi-24 attack aircraft, helicopters and T-72 tanks. Iran will also provide Syria with technical assistance in nuclear research and the development of chemical weapons.

Relations between the two countries have become increasingly close since the coming of Bashar Assad to power in 2000.

According to reports, Iranian pilgrims visit holy sites in Syria and are renovating them, while Iranian investors have made inroads in the Syrian economy. The newspaper states that the ties between the two countries are extensive and constitute a major upgrade in their relations.

In addition to the procurement of arms for Syria, Iran has promised to build a factory for the manufacture of medium-range missiles in Syria, and buy more arms on its behalf from Belarus and North Korea. Iran will also supply Syria with armored vehicles and tanks made by its local military industries, as well as missiles for the Syrian navy. Syrian naval and air force officers have also been invited to participate in training in Iran.

The report in Saudi-owned Al-Shark al-Awsat was written by Ali Reza Nourizadeh, a well-known Iranian opposition figure who recently wrote extensively on the defection to the West of a senior Iranian General, Ali Askari.

In his article, Nourizadeh describes the relationship between Syria and Iran as a company he calls "Theocracy-Baath Ltd." He says that during the rule of the late Hafez Assad, Syria had a 51 percent stake in the company, but it now only holds 33 percent, which he says reflects Syria's weakened position.

In this context, Nourizadeh mentions the fact that Syria is being isolated by the European Union and the United States, as well as other Arab states.