Syrian President Bashar Assad exchanged harsh words with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during a phone conversation, the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Siyassah reported on Wednesday. Sources close to the Syrian leader told the newspaper that Assad had initially called the Iranian president to discuss Ahmadinejad's meeting with Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah in Riyadh. However, the conversation reportedly turned ugly when Ahmadinejad voiced support for the establishment of an international tribunal on the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri - a sensitive subject for Syria, which has been suspected of involvement in the Lebanese leader's death. The report said that Assad became enraged and launched into an angry tirade, cursing the Iranians at the end of the conversation. Iran and Syria have been allies for decades. They have been particularly united in their criticism of Israel and the United States.