Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on Monday, just days after an alleged Israeli drone strike in the war-torn country.

Zarif, who landed in Syria for a one-day visit, met with Assad and Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Moalem to "discuss bilateral ties and regional developments as well as the latest political and field developments with regard to Syria's fight against terrorism," Iran's foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

It was the first meeting between the two in a year when Zarif visited Damascus in April of last year.

On his first official meeting with Zarif in a year, Assad expressed condolences to Iran, the regional epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic with 5,209 deaths from COVID-19. 

Iran is among the countries hardest hit by the coronavirus, with thousands of people dying from the deadly virus, including several senior government officials.

The Islamic republic says it has recorded 83,505 infections, while Syria has declared 39 cases, including three deaths. Assad criticized the United States for keeping economic sanctions in place on countries like Syria and Iran "despite these exceptional humanitarian conditions", the Syrian presidency said in a statement. 

Zarif said that "the U.S. real agenda in not lifting its cruel sanctions on countries fighting this disease has now become clear", a statement from Tehran said.  

Zarif's visit was seen by political analysts in Syria as seeking cooperation between the two countries to deal with the threat of the outbreak in the face of external sanctions.

(With input from AFP)