LEBANON, IRAN: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit neither routine nor ruinous

Now that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has concluded his controversial two-day tour of Lebanon and returned home without provoking a war with Israel, the real question is what, if anything, has changed?

Both Iran's ally in Lebanon, the militant Shiite group Hezbollah, and the Lebanese government tried to cast Ahmadinejad's stay as a routine visit from a neighboring head of state, an assertion that was somewhat at odds with the hero's welcome the Iranian leader received from the party and its supporters.

"I don't think this was a routine visit at all," said political analyst Kamel Wazne, founder of the Beirut-based Center of American Strategic Studies. "The Shia and Hezbollah came out in force to make sure that those who still doubted now know that Ahmadinejad has support and that he is welcome in large parts of the country."

Iran,  said Wazne, was able to send a strong message to Israel that it has powerful friends within striking distance of the Jewish state should Israel launch an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Ultimately, Wazne does not believe Ahmadinejad's visit will shift the balance of power, despite winning some begrudging recognition of Iranian might from the U.S.-and-Saudi-backed March 14 coalition, led by Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who also honored the Iranian president at a luncheon on Thursday.

"I think to a certain extent he was able to win the respect but not the heart of March 14," Wazne said. "The real conflicts that existed before [Ahmadinejad's visit] will exist after."

Ahmadinejad's visit was heavily covered in the official Iranian press as a historic event proving the president's  popularity and political influence abroad.

Hardliner cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, quoted in the Iranian media,  saluted Ahmadinejad's "bravery" for standing so close to the Israeli border and praised the popular welcome the president received in Lebanon.

"The welcome was showing the unity of people," he said. "Ahmadinejad is the symbol of the Islamic republic of Iran.... It is obvious that the United States and Israel are very furious due to this trip."

But Ahmadinejad's visit did not carry the same oomph for Iranians as for the Lebanese. Iranians are wary and somewhat bored with their president's international shenanigans, and his return has been overshadowed by the match between arch-rival Tehran soccer powerhouses Persepolis and Esteghlal.

During his visit to Lebanon, Ahmadinejad met with Lebanese officials from both sides of the political divide. He reiterated his offer to supply the Lebanese Army with weapons. He also reportedly signed $450 million in contracts spanning oil and gas imports and exploration, tourism, education, health and finance.

All of this could be considered routine politicking. But unlike other heads of state who visit Lebanon, Ahmadinejad also gave two speeches addressed mainly to Hezbollah supporters, one from the heart of Hezbollah's security square in Beirut's southern suburbs and the other from the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, which Iran helped rebuild after it was destroyed in the July 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel.

The attitude of Hezbollah's political rivals was perhaps summed up best by Lebanese Forces official Antoine Zahra, who told Aljazeera.net that he considered the Iranian president's visit "an official visit to the Lebanese state upon invitation by the president of the Lebanese Republic."

"However," he added, "Ahmadinejad's second official visit to the state of Hezbollah does not concern us."

In a highly organized show of support, thousands of Lebanese from rebuilt villages in the south turned out to welcome the Iranian president, who delivered a speech  less than a mile from the Israeli border in which he promised that "the Zionists will go."

The speech was undoubtedly a huge hit among Ahmadinejad's fans and Hezbollah supporters in Lebanon, who are not a small minority and include a significant chunk of the nation's Christians.

In the eyes of much of the Lebanese population, Iran stood by Lebanon during a crucial time in the July war while Lebanon's Western allies did not pressure Israel to stop its bombing campaign until the number of civilian casualties passed 1,000.

Others were more cynical in their reading of Iranian intentions. The pan-Arab press slammed Ahmadinejad over the visit, accusing him of stoking sectarian tensions in the region and undermining Lebanon's stability.

"Here was a man checking on his investment, and his speech was nothing short of a rallying to arms for the decades-old struggle with Israel and an unashamed show of support for his allies in Hezbollah," read an editorial on the March 14 news website Now Lebanon.

"Ahmadinejad’s speech was also an endorsement of the strategic path taken by Hezbollah and proof that his words of support for the Lebanese state were nothing but hot air."

-- Meris Lutz in Beirut and Ramin Mostaghim in Tehran

Top photo: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is welcomed by his Lebanese counterpart, Michel Sleiman. Bottom, Ahmadinejad is welcomed by crowds of Hezbollah supporters as he arrived in Lebanon. Credit: IRNA

Comments

[J. Isborn]

Why doesn't he go real bold and cross over the border.

[Jim]

Israel is a small country...about the size of New Jersey
Arab/muslims have 56 countries with Mecca as a capital and all they do is scream about war with Israel...Ahmadinejad is a monster who only wants to spread hate and radical islam through the world.

[nesreen]

the saudi press owners are not happy with the iranian visit but the south of lebanon is genuinely happy with the visit , who supplied them with missiles during the israeli vicious attacks ? who has rebuilt the south since 2006 ?was it saudi ? Saudi princes only build 5 star hotels in beirut to cater for the vicegirls and their royal partners .

[Joe]

Fact of matter is, Israel would have not withdraw from Lebanon in 2000 and would have drove right in to Beirut in 2006 if it were not for Lebanese armed resistance, Arab masses appreciate victory as oppose to majority of Arab governments and their state run news agencies since they have never won any war since their creation as a nation states in 20th century!

[Quinterius]

The Ahmadinejad visit to Lebanon was historic in the sense that it proved that the US attempts to isolate Iran has failed. It also emphasized the fact that now Israel can no longer think that it has a free hand to do whatever it wants in Southern Lebanon. While illegal overflights over Lebanese territory by Israeli airplanes continue, Israel now knows that it will be confronted with a credible response by Hezbollah if it repeats its arrogant and vicious attack in 2006 that led to the death of more than 1,000 Lebanese and the destructions of numerous towns and villages. Thousands of unexploded cluster ammunition dropped by Israel still continue to kill and maim innocent Lebanese.

One reason that the US is hated in the Middle East is that during the 2006 attack, the Bush Administration sat around for more than 30 days and delayed any UN attempt to stop the barbaric attack of Israel on Lebanon in the ridiculous belief that Israel would "kill" all the Hezbollah fighters and the organization would disappear. Instead, Israel had to run away with its tail between its legs, having left Southern Lebanon in ruins. The only country that came to the aid of the Lebanese and helped them to recover from the barbaric destruction caused by Israel was Iran. So, is there any surprise at the reception that Ahmadinejad received?

[parvaneh]

Why countries that have laws of free speech people get to go to jail if they question holocaust?

[MissMarple]

What a joke. Ahmadinejad stood a mile from Israel and he is "brave". The President of Syria can stand a yard from Israel, and nothing will happen to him. What would he be? Ahmadinejad said, "the Zionists will go." He didn't mean the Israelis are going to move. That is a direct threat, and we still don't know if they can carry it out.

[sam]

ahmadinejads bravery at israeli border is saluted
yes it takes a brave man to murder and torture men women and children,and send to prison any-body that does not jump into line with his crazy ideas,the world is well aware of this brave mans intentions,spout hate not only for our jewish nation and of course the usa but the whole of the western world,his trouble makeing visit is not going to bother us at all,and he rearly is seen as a yappy little dog that keeps snapping at your heels and when you have had enough of him just give him a swift kick and send him back to his kenel,he is obviously looking for some-body else to stand next to him when he gets the boot ,and we are ready and willing to give it to him and any-body who thinks they can put our country in danger,but they are not all as stupid as this murdering hero and are well aware that we can only be pushed so far by these radical killers,the usa isn't stupid it knows that we are true friends of america and we are a buffer against these type of mad men and their murderous ideas not just for us but the rest of the civerlised world should keep in mind that they are every-where yes they even live next door to you they smile and laugh while the plot against you as they do against us. thank you.