Ahmadinejad in Beirut: We'll keep supporting Lebanon, fighting Zionist enemy
Iranian president meets with Lebanese officials following tumultuous welcome in Beirut; Foreign Ministry: Ahmadinejad's visit is intentionally provocative.
By Avi Issacharoff, Amos Harel and The Associated PressIranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was welcomed on Wednesday by thousands of Lebanese - mostly Hezbollah supporters - in a visit that underscores the deep divisions between the Shiite militant group and the country's pro-Western factions.
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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad waves to the crowds from his SUV upon arrival in Beirut, Oct 13, 2010. |
| Photo by: AP |
During a news conference with Lebanese President Michael Suleiman, Ahmadinejad said he was a friend of all Lebanese, and emphasized the need to fight Israel.
"We seek a unified, modern Lebanon, and we stand by the Lebanese government and
people," he said.
He said both Lebanon and Iran oppose the occupation and aggression and the crimes committed by the "Zionist enemy" and those who support it.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said the Ahmadinejad visit is intentionally provocative. "It is quite clear that he is the bearer of a violent message. He comes to a highly volatile region with the intention to play with fire," he said.
"It emphasizes that a state within a state has emerged in Lebanon over the last few years, referring obviously to the Hezbollah state," he added. "It seems that after he stole votes in Tehran, he is now coming here to steal the whole country."
Representatives from Hezbollah and several pro-U.S. factions attended as Suleiman welcomed Ahmadinejad at the presidential palace. The outspoken leader is expected to meet with a number of public figures and dignitaries during his visit, including Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Thousands of Lebanese lined the main highway into the capital from Beirut's airport, where Ahmadinejad arrived Wednesday. Many waved Lebanese and Iranian flags, and giant posters of Ahmadinejad towered over the road, while loudspeakers blasted anthems and women in the crowd sold Hezbollah flags and balloons to onlookers.
The crowd broke into cheers and threw sweets as the motorcade slowly passed, and Ahmadinejad stood and waved from the sunroof of his SUV.
Ahmadinejad will tour the Shi'ite Dahiya neighborhood of Beirut and is expected to visit southern Lebanon. He is also due to give a speech in Bint Jbail, the site of one of the most well-known battles waged between Israel and Hezbollah during the Second Lebanon War.
Israeli defense officials said they believe Ahmadinejad will use his visit to Lebanon to demonstrate support for Hezbollah and hurl insults at Israel, but that the trip is not intended to ignite another round of violence in the region.
In the build-up to Ahmadinejad's arrival, signs and banners both for and against the visit have been hoisted across the country. Pictures of Ahmadinejad with a large X superimposed over his face can be seen in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, indicating he is not welcome there. In Shi'ite-dominated areas, however, photos of the Iranian president as well as spiritual leaders in Tehran have been disseminated. The roadways connecting Beirut's international airport with the city center, and major highways in the south, have been adorned with Iranian flags.
Samir Geagea, a prominent Christian political leader known for his anti-Hezbollah stance, said Ahmadinejad would be welcome in Lebanon if he came as the president of Iran, and not as the president of parts of Lebanon.
During Ahmadinejad's visit, Lebanese authorities are banning the screening of a documentary produced by an Iranian filmmaker that chronicles Iran's opposition movement.
The tension surrounding the visit is compounded by concerns about the ramifications of the release of the final report to be issued by the UN-appointed tribunal investigating the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the slain leader's son, made a lightning trip to Cairo on Monday for talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. In light of the hostile relations between Tehran and Cairo, the move was seen as part of Hariri's effort to challenge Iran and Hezbollah.
After the Hariri-Mubarak talks, a spokesperson for the Egyptian leader said Cairo supports the tribunal investigating the assassination.
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The Israeli Air Force should fly low passes over the twerp Ahmadinejad. Get video of the twerp crappin' in his pants out of fear of the IAF. That might be more worthwhile than killin' Ahmadinenazi.
If the Prime Minister has a case to put before the Lebanese people, travel to Beirut and make it. He will find the Lebanese gracious and generous hosts, as long as he leaves his army at home.
i am very scared !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Imagine the physics class?
It`s so funny to see him with an american car. It nearly looks as if he was American. He probaply adores the US as much as the Western World. He is very likely watching cartoon network in theran and the disney channel. I hate those double standards.
Ahmadinejad's visit is only the beginning: soon we can expect mass exodus of the Christian Lebanese people (perhaps THEN the West will open its eyes in regards to Hezbollah. Furthermore, perhaps THEN the West will tell Israel "you were right!"). I wonder which is Ahmadinejad's next stop: ambiguous Jordan, perhaps?
Ahmadinejad's visit is only the beginning: soon we can expect mass exodus of the Christian Lebanese people (perhaps THEN the West will open its eyes in regards to Hezbollah. Furthermore, perhaps THEN the West will tell Israel "you were right!"). I wonder which is Ahmadinejad's next stop: ambiguous Jordan, perhaps?
More like Hitler visiting Austria...The man preachs war for Lebanon and with Iran that far away it is no sweat for Iran. Hopefully the Mossad will kidnap him when he visits the border. Netanyhu warned Lebanon that any attack by anyone against Israel was a war with Lebanon. If it happens Beirut will be just another parking lot. Syria of course is a joke and has a history of laying back and letting others fight when they are not sure of the outcome
that will again open its arms to the victims of global Islamist persecution is Israel.
That's why I respect the nation of Israel and the Jewish people. G-d bless Israel. A Gentile Christian
It hurts to see that the Christian population stand lame and watch Hesbolla and now Iran take over...
Seems a lot of Lebanese Christians are putting more emphasis on being Lebanese these days, rather than letting their Christianity lead them to becoming the pawns for foreign powers.
The man is our best propaganda tool. Very few people in the world respect this little man.
Good time for Israel to do a flyover!
No president from any country ever had such a warm reception. Zionist are so angry that they could not stop this visit even with support from the US and France. Mr. presdient: WELCOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now we have a Jewish Democracy in he South and a Shiite Democracy to the North. Where is Lebanon?
I find funny that US sponsored Israel, is screaming at Iran sponsored Hezbollah. True it will make the next Lebanon invasion more difficult. That's not fair !!
go home to your country and live the lebaneese alone
Bibi's gauche and reckless acts are giving extremists such as Ahmedinejab the chance to gather more supporters, and widen their influence.
i didnt realise he was also on a visit to the chilian miners
The Congressmen rushing to suspend US aid to the Lebanese army following a recent border skirmish with Israel, were all subsidized by AIPAC and in turn supporting right-wing Israeli positions. Unfortunately, Israeli positions are not always wise, and sometimes they may hurt Israel and the US, even in the near future. If the US withholds support from Lebanon, they will be able to get even more advanced arms from other sources, from France or even Russia for example, paid for by the Saudis. And if they want to be nasty, they will take the Iran offer and get weapons from that source. (Ahmadinejad in his visit was offering weapons to the Lebanese Army, not merely to Hizballah.) In short, the US will lose the influence it has in Lebanon and somebody else will gain it. The fact is that the US does not supply arms that are dangerous to Israel, not even defensive anti-air missiles that can shoot down Israeli intruders. Another source can supply that, if the US loses influence. The House of Representatives is weak on geo-political issues. Better leave this to the Senate. Senators are of higher quality.
has found company in the Lebanese who live on conspiracy theories. Reading the shiite comments from Lebanon, I find them so naive. They don't see the danger of totalitarian rule. They used to be more liberal?
openly talking of non-jews as a demographic problem (the way the germans spoke of the jews) and the clear lack of a constitution and bill of rights in Israel....everyone throws stones in this region and everyone lives in glass houses.
Where is your love of liberty and freedom?
us and them - kosher, our land god gave it to us us us - please.
maybe they are all naive and hope too much that this totalitarian ruler will end ever. Where is you love of liberty and freedom?
maybe they are all naive and hope too much that this totalitarian ruler will end ever. Where is you love of liberty and freedom?
coming to steal a country ??????????????what has israel done to palestine,the man should be a comedian not a government minister
the shiites in southern lebanon were always peaceful and docile, yet they suffered a lot of hostilities and aggression. now they say enough is enough.
The Lebanese Shiites who were impoverished and powerless for so long have hitched their wagon to an Iranian charlatan and his Mullah masters. It will all come crashing down on the Lebanese Shiites after the US, Russia, Europe, Israel, Egypt and Saudia Arabia finally decide it's time to end the Iranian cleric regime.
in your dreams - Shittes are in Lebanon and are Lebanese, just as the majority in Iraq are Shitte -
With the press in position showing it was premeditated Then there are cross border kidnap murders,in front of the useless UN
The Israeli government knows that they cannot fight the combined forces of Syria, Lebanon and Iran. A week or two ago, Israel said that Iranian President's trip to Southern Lebanon would be a "provocation of war" but now they're saying that they don't believe his visit will "ignite violence." Have they changed their tune? Maybe. Or maybe they know that Hezbollah with the support of Iran and Syria would not tolerate any attempts of Israeli aggression. Israel has been saying for months that they want to strike Iran. America, wisely, is saying no to Israel. Face it Israel, you're a fish in a little pond surrounded by sharks. One day those sharks will grow hungry and then what?
I hope you're conclusions are wrong John. But who knows, humans are such strange creatures. However, looking at your piscine analogy, I think its needs a slight adjustment. Israel is the shark, the surrounding states are merely barracudas who on mass and in a feeding frenzy could well disembowel the shark, but lets not forget the shark has a killer whale in the shape of the USA to call upon if things look to be turning nasty. Remove the whale and the shark does indeed begin to look a lot more venerable. What do you think? I'm just curious
Theyre already hungry. I want to see them eat.. But it would be good if they eat the politicians who create this mess for all the people, the wise ones anyway. May they eat the arrogant, greedy etc
Why don't you have a good look at the map John?Iran is literally surounded from all directions,on all its borders by US forces and its allies.Lebanon army is just a joke.Not to mention that half the country doesn't necessarily support a war with Israel.Some Christians would rather fight Hizballah than Israel.The Syrians are a toothless shark which tried to "bite" Israel before and got "bitten" and mauled instead quite badly.All in all except for some Israel bashing armchair strategists the world can see how desperate the primitive medieval regime in Teheran has become.Vitriolic and idiotic speaches at the UN and visits to Lebanon are just desperate measures trying to derail any attempt to achieve peace in the region which would relegate their backward regime and ideology to the dustbin of history.Has Israel changed its tune?Maybe.It just decided to ignore this looser rather than over react to his provocations
I've heard it before. 1948, 1967, 1973 is your answer. And then we'll turn Lebanon into Disney Land, Syria into a motorsport circuit and Lebanon into a lake. And then what?
Face it Israel, you're a fish in a little pond surrounded by sharks. One day those sharks will grow hungry and then what? ...... This statement clarifies and approves every Israeli position and action as no other . I understand , it is an unintended consequence of John Smith's thinking .
israel has already shown it can defeat Iran without firing a shot. it is a little virus called stuxnet. It has virtually shut down all iranian military operations. No wonder I'm a diinner jacket wants to resume talks with the west. He is totally vulnerable now.
I trust the Israel Government has no intention of murdering the Iranian President during his visit? Such a crime would have incalulable negative consequences for the whole world - and most notably for the Zionist State.
Dont understimate the IDF while heroically pontificating safely out of harms way
I agree that Israel and US will protect Ahmedinajad... because there is no promise for 'peace' without an enemy. Proof, he is riding around in an SUV with his upper body expossed.
He is amongst cheering Islamist brothers
Don't worry, Ahmadinejad won't be allowed to grow old if he tries and executes what he plans against Israel, even if he tries to do it by remote control of Hezbollah from what he considers a safe distance back in Tehran.
Ahmadinejad has nothing against Jews, he is against injustice and desequilibirum of powers! I am not supporting this guy, but its not 'black or white', we have also to ask ourselfs the right questions!
"He has nothing against Jews" Why does he ? the holocaust at all? Its one thing to rail against the State of Israeli, but to say that my ancestors died out of a "fairy tail" is pure bs. The little man hates Jews because he is one himself while his family converted over to the "other side".
Ha, that was a good one! Hes not against jews yet he denies the Holocaust ever happened...How about the "injustice" that took place during the Holocaust???
He does not deny the Holocaust, He is like the rest of the people in the middle east doubt the numbers that are given. He wants access to the holocaust documents to verify that 6million Jews killed was a correct or acceptable number. But the Jews and the west closed all further research on the numbers of Jews killed but yet want the Moslems to believe their findings and not to look for themselves. This bring rise to doubts, and suspicions.
He does not deny the Holocaust, He is like the rest of the people in the middle east doubt the numbers that are given. He wants access to the holocaust documents to verify that 6million Jews killed was a correct or acceptable number. But the Jews and the west closed all further research on the numbers of Jews killed but yet want the Moslems to believe their findings and not to look for themselves. This bring rise to doubts, and suspicions.
is entitled as so to visit whoever he wants. Why can Obama visits Israel and Lebanon and not Ahmedinejad? There is a lot of cynicism in this.
Ahmadinejad ay be many things., but not a president for any country..He is the puppet put on the scene by a military dictatorship.
As a Lebanese citizen, I find it sad to see how my country never changes. Every single Lebanese political party is backed by a different international player, and whenever the leader of this player comes to visit Lebanon, posters and propaganda decorate our streets. From the Saudi king Faycal to the American Hillary Clonton, going through the Iranian Ahmadinejad or the Egyptian Mubarak, the Lebanese need to start distancing themselves from those international players who only divide us. Ahmedinejad's visit is not wrong. What makes it dangerous is how biased his support for Lebanon is.
The Abdullah Azzam Brigades are supposedly about to unfurl their Sunni welcome carpet for Ahmadinejad also but in their case the color of the material is not yet blood-red.
Ahmadinejad was supposed to visit Lebanon BEFORE his UN appearance. His arrival was delayed until AFTER Israel tanked the Peace Talks. Why? Why did Saudi and Syria have a meeting over the situation in Lebanon? And why is EVERYONE including Iran trying to avoid another civil war in Lebanon? Last of all, what happened to all that talk of a month or so ago about an imminent war between Israel and Lebanon? So many players, and so few answers.
"Ahmadinejad due in Lebanon for long-awaited visit" - Haaretz Really? Then why have repeated attempts to mention this going back to last August been censored?
The question is not who assassinated Hariri who was well known for being one of the most corrupt politicians in the world. The question is, why didn't anybody assassinate his successor, Siniora, who was far more anti-Syria and anti-Hizbollah than Hariri was.