Iranian president hails Hezbollah ‘victory’
Hezbollah’s main backers — Iran and Syria — struck nearly identical tones a day after a ceasefire took effect in Lebanon: heaping praise on the guerrillas as perceived victors for the Islamic world and claiming that Western influence in the region was dealt a serious blow.
“God’s promises have come true,” Mr Ahmadinejad told a huge crowd in Arbadil in north-western Iran. “On one side, it’s corrupt powers of the criminal US and Britain and the Zionists ... with modern bombs and planes. And on the other side is a group of pious youth relying on God.”
In Damascus, Syrian President Syrian President Bashar Assad said Washington’s plans for the Middle East were turned into “an illusion” by Hezbollah’s resistance to the Israeli military during the 34-day conflict.
Israel “was defeated” and Hezbollah “hoisted the banner of victory,” Mr Ahmadinejad told the crowd, including many people waving yellow Hezbollah banners and Iranian flags.
Mr Ahmadinejad drew cheers when he said Hezbollah foiled what he called the plans of Washington and its allies “to create the so-called new Middle East.”
“The people of the region are also after the new Middle East, but a Middle East that is free from US and British domination,” he said.
After the war broke out on July 12, Mr Ahmadinejad and other Iranian leaders repeatedly denounced the UN Security Council for moving slowly toward a ceasefire.
They also sharply criticised other Muslim nations for what Iran considered a failure to rally around Hezbollah and Lebanese civilians.
Mr Ahmadinejad said the United Nations should force war reparations from Israel and its allies, led by the United States.
“Those who were involved in inflicting damage to the Lebanese nation are responsible,” he said.
Mr Ahmadinejad has drawn worldwide condemnation for calling for Israel’s destruction and describing the Holocaust as a myth.
Earlier, a hard-line Iranian cleric warned Israel that Iran’s new long-range missiles will land in Tel Aviv if the Jewish state should attack Iran.
Ahmad Khatami, a mid-ranking cleric, declared that Israel would face dire consequences if it “makes an iota of aggression against Iran.”
“They must fear the day 2,000-kilometre range missiles land in the heart of Tel Aviv,” he said.
Mr Khatami is a Friday prayer leader in Tehran and a member of the Assembly of Experts, a clerical panel that has the power to choose or dismiss Iran’s top leader, but he is not considered a government official.
In his address, Mr Ahmadinejad also said his government would stick by its plans to reply on August 22 to a package of Western economic and technology incentives offered in exchange for a suspension of Iranian uranium enrichment activity.
The UN Security Council has told Iran it must halt enrichment by August 31 or face possible sanctions.
Western nations, led by the United States, claim Iran is using its nuclear programme as a cover for developing atomic weapons.
Iran denies the allegations, saying its program has the peaceful goal of generating electricity with nuclear reactors.
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