Reuters - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday invited Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to visit Damascus, state news agency IRNA reported, without specifying a date for the trip.

Zarif tendered his resignation two days ago but Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani rejected it on Wednesday, calling it “against national interests”.

Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin, Editing by William Maclean