Officials from states allied with Assad praise Syria's vote, saying it will bring stability

A woman votes for President Bashar Assad by marking the ballot with blood from her pricked finger, in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday June 3, 2014. Polls opened in government-held areas in Syria amid very tight security Tuesday for the country's presidential election, a vote that President Bashar Assad is widely expected to win. (AP Photo/Dusan Vranic) (The Associated Press)

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad, second right, casts his vote as Syrian first lady Asma Assad, stands next to him at a polling station, in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, June 3, 2014. Thousands of Syrians lined up outside polling centers in government-controlled areas around the country to vote Tuesday in the presidential election that Assad is widely expected to win but which has been denounced by critics as a sham. (AP Photo/SANA) (The Associated Press)

DAMASCUS, Syria – A delegation of legislators and dignitaries from more than 30 countries, led by allies of President Bashar Assad, have praised this week's presidential elections in Syria, saying they pave the way for "stability and national agreement."

The delegation, including members from Iran, Russia and Venezuela, toured polling stations on Tuesday during Syria's first multicandidate presidential election in decades.

Assad is widely expected to win the vote that took place amid a civil war that activists say has killed more than 160,000 people.

In a final statement read Wednesday by Alaeddin Boroujerdi, head of the Iranian parliament's Committee on National Security, the group blamed the U.S and its allies for "crimes committed against the Syrian people."

The United States and the European Union support the rebellion against Assad.