13/10/2010 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Lebanon on Wednesday for a historic visit aimed at stressing unity of the Lebanese and Iranian peoples.
The Iranian leader was greeted at the airport by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri representing President Michel Sleiman and a delegation of Hezbollah and Amal Movement politicians.
At the airport’s VIP salon, Speaker Berri welcomed Ahmadinejad and told him that the visit was extremely important and “thanks to our enemies it has become even more important.”
For his part Ahmadinejad said that enemies become even more savage when they see friends together. ‘This is another day for us and we are at the service of our beloved Lebanese,” Ahmadinejad said.
The Iranian president’s motorcade then started the journey to the Baabda Presidential Palace, where President Sleiman and his Iranian counterpart will hold a meeting.
Large crowds gathered at the Airport Road and greeted Dr. AHmadinejad with flowers and rice. "Khosh Omadid" (Presian for welcome) Ahmadinejad, friend of the people,” the crowds shouted.
Unconfirmed reports said that the Iranian president could extend his visit to Lebanon till Friday, when Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyib Erdogan arrives in Beirut, and that a meeting could be held betwee the three leaders.
The Iranian president refused to take a helicopter to the presidential palace.
He got out of his vehicle and greeted back the emotional crowds.
Security was tight along the route from the airport to Baabda, as the Lebanese army, Hezbollah, and the Amal Movement were coordinating security measures.
Before his departure from Tehran, Ahmadinejad discussed regional affairs with Saudi King Abdullah by telephone
Sleiman: Lebanon Appreciates Iran Support after July 2006 Israeli War
13/10/2010 “Lebanon appreciates Iranian support in the confrontation with Israeli aggression, particularly after the July 2006 war which enabled Lebanon to withstand the enemy,” President Michel Sleiman told his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in remarks delivered at a televised lunch in Baabda Palace on Wednesday afternoon.
“That was by virtue of [Lebanon’s] army, people, and Resistance and its abilities, which the Lebanese state works to strengthen and place within a comprehensive defensive strategy,” Sleiman said.
He indicated that while Lebanon strives to compel Israel to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701, “it reserves its right to retrieve and liberate its territories through all permissible and legitimate ways.” Having said this, we remain extremely cautious toward Israel’s attempts to sow division in Lebanon and divide its people, Sleiman said.
Sleiman said that he was pleased to expand bilateral cooperation, citing a “large group of agreements” he has signed with the Iranian leader.
Ahmadinejad hailed the “deep-rooted historical relations of friendliness between Iran and Lebanon,” particularly the cultural exchange carried by religious scholars traveling between the two countries.
“I present abundant thanks to the president, the speaker, and the prime minister, and to all those who carry the burden of service for the Lebanese people. Likewise, I thank here all those present for their attendance and also their attentiveness,” Ahmadinejad said.
Large crowd of politicians from March 14 alliance and opposition officials were attending the lunch in Baabda.
Before lunch, President Sleiman held with his Iranian counterpart a joint press conference in which they announced the signing of bilateral memoranda of understanding, including in the economic, trade, environmental and energy fields.
Sleiman thanked Ahmadinejad for Iran’s continuous support of Lebanon against Israeli aggression. “I assured Ahmadinejad that Lebanon is keen to oblige Israel on implementing UN Security Council resolutions,” Sleiman said. He stressed on the necessity of preserving national unity and fully implementing UN [Security Council] Resolution 1701.
“We also discussed international terrorism and how to differentiate it from the Resistance,” Sleiman said.
On the nuclear program, the Lebanese president said: We stress on the right of states, including Iran, to acquire nuclear energy and use it for peaceful purposes.
The Iranian president thanked Lebanese officials and its people for hospitality. “I feel like I am in my home and country,” Ahmadinejad said adding that Lebanon’s ability to be resilient deserves flattering since it brought pride to the countries of the Middle East.
Ahmadinejad said the talks with Sleiman were “constructive” praising him for being a “strong and firm man”. “I assured him that bilateral cooperation has no limits. We signed many agreements on different levels,” he announced.
“We support Lebanon’s bitter struggle in confronting Israeli assaults. We demand with all seriousness and insistence the liberation of all occupied land in Lebanon and Syria,” Ahmadinejad said. “We demand a united and strong Lebanon and we stand by the government and people so this people may achieve all its goals,” he added.
Ahmadinejad also thanked Speaker Nabih Berri, who received him in the airport, and Prime Minister Saad Hariri, “because he is working for the interest of his country.”
At the end of the conference Ahmadinejad surprised Sleiman with an Iranian-made gift that only six states own it, Lebanon is the seventh. This device would help Lebanon with its scientific research efforts.
Ahmadinejad's Lebanon Visit in Israeli Eyes
13/10/2010 “Lebanon appreciates Iranian support in the confrontation with Israeli aggression, particularly after the July 2006 war which enabled Lebanon to withstand the enemy,” President Michel Sleiman told his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in remarks delivered at a televised lunch in Baabda Palace on Wednesday afternoon.
“That was by virtue of [Lebanon’s] army, people, and Resistance and its abilities, which the Lebanese state works to strengthen and place within a comprehensive defensive strategy,” Sleiman said.
He indicated that while Lebanon strives to compel Israel to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701, “it reserves its right to retrieve and liberate its territories through all permissible and legitimate ways.” Having said this, we remain extremely cautious toward Israel’s attempts to sow division in Lebanon and divide its people, Sleiman said.
Sleiman said that he was pleased to expand bilateral cooperation, citing a “large group of agreements” he has signed with the Iranian leader.
Ahmadinejad hailed the “deep-rooted historical relations of friendliness between Iran and Lebanon,” particularly the cultural exchange carried by religious scholars traveling between the two countries.
“I present abundant thanks to the president, the speaker, and the prime minister, and to all those who carry the burden of service for the Lebanese people. Likewise, I thank here all those present for their attendance and also their attentiveness,” Ahmadinejad said.
Large crowd of politicians from March 14 alliance and opposition officials were attending the lunch in Baabda.
Before lunch, President Sleiman held with his Iranian counterpart a joint press conference in which they announced the signing of bilateral memoranda of understanding, including in the economic, trade, environmental and energy fields.
Sleiman thanked Ahmadinejad for Iran’s continuous support of Lebanon against Israeli aggression. “I assured Ahmadinejad that Lebanon is keen to oblige Israel on implementing UN Security Council resolutions,” Sleiman said. He stressed on the necessity of preserving national unity and fully implementing UN [Security Council] Resolution 1701.
“We also discussed international terrorism and how to differentiate it from the Resistance,” Sleiman said.
On the nuclear program, the Lebanese president said: We stress on the right of states, including Iran, to acquire nuclear energy and use it for peaceful purposes.
The Iranian president thanked Lebanese officials and its people for hospitality. “I feel like I am in my home and country,” Ahmadinejad said adding that Lebanon’s ability to be resilient deserves flattering since it brought pride to the countries of the Middle East.
Ahmadinejad said the talks with Sleiman were “constructive” praising him for being a “strong and firm man”. “I assured him that bilateral cooperation has no limits. We signed many agreements on different levels,” he announced.
“We support Lebanon’s bitter struggle in confronting Israeli assaults. We demand with all seriousness and insistence the liberation of all occupied land in Lebanon and Syria,” Ahmadinejad said. “We demand a united and strong Lebanon and we stand by the government and people so this people may achieve all its goals,” he added.
Ahmadinejad also thanked Speaker Nabih Berri, who received him in the airport, and Prime Minister Saad Hariri, “because he is working for the interest of his country.”
At the end of the conference Ahmadinejad surprised Sleiman with an Iranian-made gift that only six states own it, Lebanon is the seventh. This device would help Lebanon with its scientific research efforts.
Ahmadinejad's Lebanon Visit in Israeli Eyes
According to the Israeli Daily Haaretz "Israeli defense officials said they believe Ahmadinejad will use his visit to Lebanon to demonstrate support for Hezbollah and hurl insults at Israel."
However the daily added in its Wednesday edition that the trip "is not intended to ignite another round of violence in the region."
Yedioth Aharonoth’s Website Ynet quoted on Wednesday Israeli Knesset Member Arieh Eldad as saying: "History would have been different if in 1939 some Jewish soldier would have succeeded in taking Hitler out. If Ahmadinejad will be in the crosshairs of an IDF rifle when he comes to throw rocks at us, he must not return home alive."
In the same context it was clear that the Zionist entity is worried about Ahmadinejad's visit to battlegrounds of the July war in 2006.
"In Bint Jbail, a large replica of the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem has been constructed, with an Iranian flag atop it,” Ynet said.
It added that Ahmadinejad was coming to Lebanon to deliver a warning. “(His) visit will showcase and confirm this. It may even have the effect of briefly focusing rare media attention on it. But beyond this, for Israel the trip consists, as one newspaper put it, of a largely “symbolic visit” by the “man who calls the shots” in south Lebanon.”
On the other hand, JPost quoted an Israeli diplomatic official as saying: “Israel will not be harmed by the visit. We are not afraid of his visit; he will be just another terrorist in southern Lebanon. It is Lebanon that needs to be concerned, allowing the Iranian Trojan horse into the country. It is their sovereignty that is being chipped away.”
The newspaper said that diplomatic officials in Jerusalem believe that "Lebanon, not Israel, would be the party to suffer most from Ahmadinejad’s scheduled visit next week to southern Lebanon."
“Lebanon is the primary victim, and if it wants to stop slipping into the jaws of the Iranian crocodile, it – and the moderate Arab world – should raise a strong voice and say this provocateur is not welcome,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Yossi Levy said.
For its part, Washington has expressed concern to the Lebanese government over Ahmadinejad's visit to Lebanon, US State Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley said.
Crowley said that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke with Lebanese President Michel Suleiman last month, telling him that "Iran, through Hizbullah, threatens Lebanon's sovereignty."
Source: Israeli Media
Jeffrey Feltman: "We are taking steps to lower tension … while Ahmadinejad is doing the opposite,”
"... The much-heralded visit was both eagerly anticipated and viewed with suspicion by rival political camps in Lebanon. Ahmadinejad has described the country as the starting place for "changing the face of the region." Given Iran’s massive military and financial backing for Hezbollah, which has ramped up for a fresh war with Israel – one it says will be regional this time – the United States has described Ahmadinejad’s visit to Lebanon as potentially destabilizing.
“Why is the Iranian president organizing activities that might spark tension? We are taking steps to lower tension … while Ahmadinejad is doing the opposite,” Jeffrey Feltman, the assistant secretary of State for Near Eastern affairs, told the pan-Arab Al-Hayat Wednesday.
Doubtless contributing to such concerns were comments from Ahmadinejad on the eve of his departure to Beirut, in which he described Lebanon as the “focus point of resistance” against Israel. He is scheduled on Thursday to tour Lebanon’s southern border with Israel, Iran’s arch enemy. “Lebanon is the focus point of resistance and standing against those who demand too much,” he was quoted as saying on Iranian state television. “It is playing an excellent role in this regard.”
While it is Ahmadinejad’s first visit to Lebanon since taking office in 2005, he has been here before, according to residents of the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon. More than two decades ago, as an officer in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), he helped train the nascent Hezbollah.
Hezbollah emerged from the Bekaa in the wake of the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, when Lebanese Shiites inspired by the Islamic revolution in Iran were mobilized and trained by a contingent of the IRGC. Hezbollah’s relentless campaign of resistance against the Israeli occupation of south Lebanon led to a unilateral Israeli troop withdrawal in 2000. Six years later, Hezbollah stunned Israel by fighting its troops to a standstill in the hills and valleys of south Lebanon. More than 1,100 Lebanese were killed and Lebanon suffered immense infrastructure damage. .... Hezbollah leaders constantly echo the refrain that Israel will be defeated in the next war. While there is an element of psychological warfare in such pronouncements, the grassroots Hezbollah fighters hold the promise of Israel’s demise as an article of faith...."
Posted by G, Z, or B at 11:06 AM
aah the Lebanese ... All smiles ... All the time ...
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian
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