Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sent on Sunday a cable of congratulations to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on his election as new president of Iran, the official SANA news agency reported.

"We send the most sincere congratulations and best wishes of success in your responsibilities," Assad was quoted as saying.

He also expressed his confidence that Syria and Iran would continue their joint work to enhance the existing cooperation between the two countries, SANA said.

Ahmadinejad, ultra-conservative Tehran Mayor, defeated his moderate presidential run-off rival Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and won the country's 9th presidential election on Friday.

Ahmadinejad has won a landslide victory according to the results of the counted votes from Friday's run-off and his victory is irreversible with a great margin, announced the Interior Ministry spokesman Jahanbakhsh Khanjani.

Source: Xinhua