Iranian Official Visits Assad in Syria

New video of the Syrian president the first in a month

Syria's president welcomed a top official Tuesday from Iran, a friend and ally of the much-reviled and increasingly isolated government in Damascus.

Saeed Jalili, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, met with President Bashar al-Assad to discuss resolving the 17-month-long civil war and rescuing several Iranians who were kidnapped over the weekend in Syria. State TV showed footage of Jalili and al-Assad in the first video of the president that has surfaced since last month.