Hezbollah official hails Iran pres. visit

The Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s trip to Lebanon announces that Iran will continue backing the Lebanese and Palestinian resistance, a Hezbollah official says.

Given the situation in the Middle East, President Ahmadinejad’s visit to Lebanon is of great significance since “Iran plays a crucial role in supporting the Palestinian cause and resistance movements in the region,” Hezbollah’s Arab Relations Officer Sheikh Hassan Ezzeddine told Fars news agency on Friday.

Ezzeddine further pointed out that the visit sends a message to the US and Israel that Iran keeps up support of the Palestinian and Lebanese resistance and will stand by them.

The Islamic Republic is a supporter of the Lebanese nation, he said, adding that the visit was aimed at supporting Lebanese interests, not interfering in the domestic affairs of the country.

The Hezbollah official stated that the visit to southern Lebanon also carries the message that Iran will not stop supporting Palestinians.

“The Palestinian issue is a matter [of importance] in the Islamic world. Therefore, Iran supports the Palestinian resistance,” he went on to say.

President Ahmadinejad is scheduled to pay an official visit to Lebanon in October. It would be the first such trip since he took office in 2005.

This comes as Israel has been pushing Lebanon to cancel the visit. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said earlier that Tel Aviv was “extremely worried” about the Iranian president’s visit.

Various Lebanese political figures, including Leader of the Lebanese Forces Political Party, Samir Geagea, Leader of Lebanon’s Free Patriotic Movement Michel Aoun and Leader of Lebanese Arab Struggle Movement Faysal Dawood have welcomed the Iranian chief executive’s visit.