Ahmadinejad Visit to South Lebanon Villages Woos Shiites, Alarms Israel
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited villages near the Israeli border on the second day of his Lebanon trip, wooing the Arab country’s Shiite Muslim community while alarming Israel.
Ahmadinejad visited Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon, after yesterday attending a Beirut rally organized by the Iranian- backed Shiite Hezbollah movement, a member of Lebanon’s national unity government. He also held talks with Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally.
The trip to the south, which was occupied by the Israeli military between 1982 and 2000, has been criticized by Israel and the U.S. The region is a bedrock of support for Hezbollah, which is mounting a growing challenge to the U.S.-backed Hariri almost a year after joining his coalition.
Thousands of supporters, waving the yellow flag of Hezbollah along with Iranian and Lebanese flags, welcomed Ahmadinejad at a rally in Bint Jbeil, the site of intense fighting between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli soldiers during their monthlong war in 2006.
“All nations are thankful to your resistance, the symbol of the victory of the Lebanese nation,” Ahmadinejad told the crowd. “Occupied Palestine will be liberated because of the strength and faith of the resistance.”
‘Provocative Message’
As well as boosting Hezbollah, Ahmadinejad’s trip “is a slap in the face to the U.S. and a provocative message to Israel,” said Amal Saad-Ghorayeb, author of a forthcoming book, “The Iran Connection: The Alliance with Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas.” “It’s provocative because Ahmadinejad is considered synonymous with the call for the eradication of Israel.”
Ahmadinejad’s next stop was in Qana, where dozens of civilians were killed by Israeli attacks in 1996 and 2006. Israel expressed regret for the deaths there in both cases and blamed Hezbollah for provoking the conflicts and using civilians as a human shield.
Amos Gilad, an official at Israel’s Defense Ministry, told Israel Radio today that “Iran wants to turn Lebanon into a branch of Iran,” and said the visit “proves Lebanon’s orientation toward Iran, especially southern Lebanon.”
‘Illegitimate State’
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, speaking via video link for security reasons at last night’s rally, said that “the West can’t put up with the Iranian president because he speaks the truth and declares that Israel is an illegitimate state and must disappear.”
Hezbollah, backed by Syria as well as Shiite-ruled Iran, is classified as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and Israel. The group has defied a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for disarmament, saying it needs to defend the country from Israel, which invaded in 1978, 1982 and 2006. It won popularity in Lebanon by helping force Israel’s army to withdraw from the country in 2000, ending an 18-year occupation.
The group has clashed with Hariri over a UN probe into the 2005 killing of the premier’s father, Rafiq Hariri, amid speculation members of Hezbollah may be among those indicted. Hezbollah says the tribunal is biased, has been misled by “false witnesses,” and should be abolished.
The dispute is undermining Lebanon’s efforts to pass budget plans through parliament, as Hezbollah threatens to block funds allocated for the UN probe. The International Monetary Fund in a report last week urged the country to tighten fiscal policy and avoid “overheating” an economy that has defied the global crisis. Gross domestic product increased 9 percent in 2009 and the IMF forecast growth of at least 8 percent this year.
Domestic Critics
Ahmadinejad’s visit to southern Lebanon comes as he faces criticism from both conservatives and reformists in Iran, said Robert Powell, an analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit in New York.
His administration has cracked down on opposition groups who staged protests when the president was re-elected last year, saying the vote was rigged. Ahmadinejad also faces economic challenges, with growth slowing due to weak domestic demand according to the IMF, and international sanctions in response to Iran’s nuclear ambitions restricting imports.
“He has traveled to one of the very few places in the region where he is always likely to get a warm welcome,” Powell said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Massoud A. Derhally in Beirut at mderhally@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Peter Hirschberg at phirschberg@bloomberg.net.
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