IRAN: Lebanon and Iran expected to talk weapons
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Talk of weapons was in the air today as Lebanon’s Michel Suleiman began an official visit to Iran, where he met his counterpart, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The future of weapons held by the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group, Hezbollah, is expected to be discussed between the two leaders. International and domestic pressure has been mounting on the Muslim Shiite organization to disarm, but Hezbollah has refused to budge, insisting that its arms are crucial for defending Lebanon against Israel.
Karim Makdissi, professor of international relations at the American University of Beirut, told the Los Angeles Times that it was not realistic to wait for any breakthrough regarding Hezbollah’s weapons anytime soon:
“I have doubts that Suleiman will have the influence to set terms with respect to Hezbollah’s arms. His visit to Iran is more psychological and an image projection one rather than substantial. Suleiman wants to show a position of neutrality. He has been on a tour in the west and now it’s time for him to visit Iran as the powerful player on the other side.”
Since his election as a consensual president in May, Suleiman has undergone several international visits to seek support for his country following a return to sectarian calm. Lebanon was on the brink of a civil war earlier this year when violence erupted for several days in the streets.
Some Arab media reports suggested that Iran would offer Suleiman military assistance.
‘Suleiman’s visit is important because it opens a new chapter in defense cooperation between the two countries,’ Iranian state radio reported. ‘Increasing the defensive might of the Lebanese army and other security institutions will strengthen Lebanon against the danger of the Zionist regime.’
The London-based Arab daily Al-Hayat said in its Sunday edition that Tehran was planning on providing Lebanon’s army with heavy weapons, including missiles.
Unofficially, Iran has been allegedly supplying the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah with arms since the 1980s.
Meanwhile, over the past few years, the United States has been trying to boost Lebanon’s official armed forces against the powerful Shiite group with military aid amounting to $410 million.
No matter what comes of Suleiman’s talks with the Iranians, which also includes six Lebanese ministers, most of Lebanon’s politicians endorsed the president’s efforts to adopt an open foreign policy toward all countries in the region.
Even the Western-backed political alliance welcomed Suleiman’s visit to Tehran.
Fares Soueid, a political representative from the March 14 alliance, said in a statement today that all the people of Lebanon supported Sleiman’s visit to Tehran as part of his efforts to bolster Lebanon’s important role on the Arab, Islamic and international levels.
Lebanon provided an image of unity to the world on Saturday when the country marked 65 years of independence for the first time in three years with an official ceremony staged in Downtown Beirut.
Independence Day commemorates the country’s liberation in 1943 after 23 years of governance by French Mandate that succeeded Ottoman rule.
-- Raed Rafei in Beirut