Perhaps spurred on by Mr Hijab's decision and/or by the 4 August kidnapping in Damascus of 48 Iranians claimed by Tehran to be "pilgrims," the Iranians have suddenly engaged in a burst of diplomatic activity aimed at shoring up their ally in Damascus, with Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi flying to Turkey on 7 August and the head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Saidd Jalili, arriving in Syria on the same day after visiting Lebanon. Mr Salehi predictably had a fairly frosty reception in Ankara, but in Damascus Mr Jalili's uncompromising expression of support for the government must have been music to the leadership's ears. "What is happening in Syria," he declared, "is not an internal Syrian issue but a conflict between the axis of resistance and its enemies in the region and the world. Iran will not tolerate, in any form, the breaking of the axis of the resistance, of which Syria is an intrinsic part."

More curiously Mr Salehi returned from Turkey on 8 August to announce that Iran would host what he called a "consultative meeting" the next day to denounce violence and uphold national dialogue in Syria in which 12 to 13 countries from Asia, Africa and Latin America would participate. However, the next day the official news agency IRNA reported that the meeting had been attended by the foreign ministers of Iran, Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Iraq, by the Iraqi minister of national security and by the deputy foreign ministers and ambassadors of 22 other Asian, African and Latin American countries. Mr Salehi told the meeting that Iran "firmly believes that the Syrian crisis can only be resolved through serious and inclusive talks between the government and opposition groups that enjoy popular support in Syria," and according to state television the conference issued a joint statement which "welcomed Iran's suggestion calling on the parties involved to halt the violence for three months in order to follow up talks." However, with neither side in Syria showing signs of being willing to talk to the other, it was a safe bet that this call for a ceasefire would not be heeded.