Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on
an official state visit to Lebanon was given a tumultuous welcome on
arrival by all factions of the Lebanese society. People lined the road
from airport, throwing flowers and rose petals at his motorcade.
Ahmadinejad’s visit to Lebanon is the
first official state visit to the country by an Iranian President.
Standing alongside Michel Sleiman, Lebanon’s President, Ahmadinejad said
Iran will always back the Lebanese nation.
The Islamic group Hezbollah arranged a
rally to thank Ahmadinejad for his political as well as financial
support, particularly to Hezbollah after the 2006 Israeli-Lebanon war.
While addressing at the rally Iranian President vowed to stand beside
Lebanon against any aggression or hostility from Israel. The leader of
Hezbollah, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah also addressed the gathering via a
televised screen said what Iran wants in Palestine is the same as what
Arabs had wanted for the past 60 years, that is to restore the land of
Palestine to the Palestinian people.
The UN-backed probe into the 2005
killing of Rafiq al-Hariri, the former Prime Minister of Lebanon
excludes Israel from the investigation. The Zionist terror regime in the
past have carried out several murders in Lebanon is very likely to have
a hand in the Hariri assassination. Israel regards a unified Lebanon as
a threat to its existence, wants the country to remain strife-torn or
divided may have assassinated Hariri to give the impression that
Hezbollah, a predominantly Shia group killed a Sunni Prime Minister.
Lebanon’s Energy and Water Minister, Gebran Bassil, said Iran had pledged a $450m loan for Lebanon to support power and water projects.
Lebanon’s Energy and Water Minister, Gebran Bassil, said Iran had pledged a $450m loan for Lebanon to support power and water projects.
The United States, which wants to
isolate Iran over its nuclear programme is particularly unhappy about
the Iranian President’s state visit to Lebanon. The US and Israel
continues to accuse Iran of supplying arms to Hezbollah. However,
officials close to Hezbollah only stress Iran’s support for
reconstruction of Lebanon, saying they have spent about $1 billion of
Iranian money since 2006 on rebuilding.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a US
surrogate in the region wants to undermine the influence of Hezbollah by
creating a deep Sunni-Shia divide within Lebanon. Saudi Arabian backed
armed men have recently tried to challenge the authority of Islamic
group Hamas over the Gaza Strip.
_____________________________________________Written by: Ibrahim Nazim
14 October 2010, Thursday
6 Zulqaida 1431
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