Last update - 00:00 29/07/2007
Ahmadinejad hails Nasrallah as soldier in army of the 'messiah'
By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sent a greeting card to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah to mark the first anniversary of the Second Lebanon War, calling the head of the Islamist Lebanese group a soldier in the messiah's army, an Iranian news agency reported Sunday.
Celebrating last summer's war between Hezbollah and Israel, Ahmadinejad wrote "the wonderful victory of the Lebanese people over the Zionist occupiers is a result of faith, unity and resistance," the Iranian news agency IRNA reported.
A more liberal news agency, belonging to a senior Iranian official, reported that Ahmadinejad also wrote that Nasrallah is one of the soldiers of "Mahdi", the prophesized redeemer of Islam.
"The Imam Mahdi carries the flag of humanity, support, and guidance for the faithful," Ahmadinejad reportedly wrote.
Meir Javedanfar, co-author of the book "Nuclear Sphinx of Tehran: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the State of Iran" told Haaretz on Sunday that he felt it was no coincidence that the messiah reference was dropped from the IRNA report. He explained that many people "feel that Ahmadinejad's numerous public remarks about the messiah are harming his regime, and create a feeling among Westerners that they mustn't compromise on the nuclear issue."
Javedanfar was referring to the Islamic country's ongoing efforts to enrich uranium for what they term peaceful purposes, but the world suspects they are developing nuclear arms.