Syrian President Hafez Assad, left, and Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, right, prepare to attend the welcoming ceremony upon Assad's arrival to Tehran Interational Airport in this Dec. 8, 1997 photo. Assad, the autocratic Syrian president who never realized his dream of a united Arab front and a humiliated Israel, died Saturday, June 10, 2000. He was 69, and had been ailing for some time. (AP Photo/Enric Marti)