TEHRAN (ISNA)- Syrian Defense Minister Fahed Jassem al-Freij arrived in Tehran on Tuesday at top of a senior defense delegation.

He plans to meet with Iranian political and defense officials and discuss Iran-Syria bilateral relations as well as main regional and international issues.

Syria has been grappling with a deadly conflict since March 2011. The violence fueled by Takfiri groups has so far claimed the lives of over 200,000 people, according to reports.

Some 6.5 million Syrians have also become internally displaced due to the ongoing Syrian crisis, according to the UN.

By ISNA