Syrian Vice President Farouq al-Sharaa has been seen entering his office in the capital Damascus, ending rumors by opposition activists and certain Arab news networks that he had defected from President Bashar al-Assad's government.Sharaa was seen leaving his car and stepping into his office on Sunday to receive visiting Chairman of Iran’s Majlis (parliament) National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Alaeddin Boroujerdi, who arrived in Damascus on Saturday for talks with senior Syrian officials. Some Western media along with Arabic-language TV networks harboring anti-Assad sentiments had earlier published the defection reports of Sharaa.Syria’s state-run news agency SANA said on Saturday that a fake email had been sent out in its name, claiming that the vice president had been sacked, adding that the "information is completely wrong." Meanwhile, state television on August 19 quoted a statement from Sharaa's office saying that "he has never thought about leaving the country or going anywhere." Earlier this month, Damascus denied allegations that Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem had announced on Twitter he had replaced Sharaa. SANA rejected the information as "wrong" and stressed that Muallem did not have a Twitter account. Sharaa, 73, has served in senior posts for almost 30 years under both Bashar and his father and predecessor Hafez al-Assad.