Syria’s embattled regime has arranged a $1 billion import credit line from Iran, in a sign of Tehran’s financial support for its ally President Bashar Assad as he fights a spreading rebellion, international sanctions and a crippled economy, The Financial Times reported Wednesday, January 16. The deal between Export Development Bank of Iran and Commercial Bank of Syria was part of broader package of assistance agreed after Wael al-Halqi, Syria’s prime minister, visited Tehran on Wednesday. While the agreement is not a direct cash transfer to bolster Syria’s depleted foreign exchange reserves, it will allow Syrian importers credit to source consumer supplies from Iran at a time when it is hard for them to do so from many other countries. The Syrian and Iranian banks involved are both state-owned and under western financial sanctions.