World Bulletin / News Desk  

Syria's defence minister has started an official visit to its major ally Iran as the head of a military delegation, Lebanon's al-Manar television said on Tuesday.

It gave no further details on the visit of Fahad Jassim al-Freij, but it comes as the Syrian military is facing increased pressure from insurgent groups on the ground in Syria.

Al-Manar is run by Lebanon's Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed group which is also an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

It was not immediately possible to confirm the visit with Syrian officials and Syrian state media did not report it.