Iran, Syria must defuse US plots - Khamenei

TEHRAN, Feb 18 (Reuters) Iran's highest authority Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tehran and Damascus should work closely to defuse US ''plots'' in the West Asia, state television reported today.

The report said Khamenei made the comments during a meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who was in Tehran to discuss instability in Iraq and the crisis in Lebanon.

The United States accuses Syria, Iran and Hezbollah, the Lebanese guerrilla group supported by those two states, of seeking to topple Lebanon's Western-backed government.

The United States also accuses Iran of supporting militants in Iraq and Syria of allowing insurgents to cross into Iraq.

Both countries deny the accusations.

Khamenei said policies adopted by the United States in the Middle East had failed and he told Assad their countries should support Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government ''and the Lebanese nation's will''.

''Tehran and Syria should also coordinate to confront America's plots in the region. ... The realities of the region show that the main loser on regional issues will be ... America and its allies,'' state television quoted him as saying.

Assad arrived in Iran, Syria's closest ally in the region, yesterday for a two-day visit. It was Assad's second to Tehran since Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took office in 2005.

Assad said the United States wanted to create divisions among Muslim nations in the region.

''They (US) want to weaken Muslim nations and regional governments' resistance to America,'' state television quoted Assad as saying during his meeting with Khamenei.

''But with full coordination and by relying on their people, Syria and Iran will strongly insist on their views.'' REUTERS PDM RN2011