Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Tuesday his country will continue to support Syria, urging Damascus to confront Israel in the Golan Heights.

Rouhani�s website said the remarks came during a meeting with visiting Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad.

�The Islamic Republic of Iran will continue its support to the Syrian government and people as our strategic ally and we will stand by Syria until its final victory.�

Rouhani said confronting �Zionist occupiers and terrorism� is the joint goal of both nations.

�Until the liberation of all occupied lands including the Golan, confronting Zionist occupiers,� should continue, said Rouhani.

It was Mekad�s first visit to Iran as foreign minister after he assumed his post in November. He arrived in Tehran on Monday.

Iran has been a key ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad since the beginning of Syria�s civil war in 2011, lending his government in Damascus vital military and economic support.

Iran does not recognize Israel and supports anti-Israel militant groups like the Palestinian Hamas and Lebanon�s Hezbollah.

Israel accuses Iran of building up its military presence along its northern frontier with Syria and has repeatedly struck Iran-linked facilities and weapons convoys destined for Hezbollah.

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war.

(AP)