Ahmadinejad Gets Warm Welcome in Beirut

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Beirut Wednesday to a warm welcome.

Huge crowds gathered in the streets of Beirut to welcome Ahmadinejad as he arrived on a controversial visit that will take him to the doorstep of arch-foe Israel.

The streets to Beirut's airport were lined from early morning by thousands of people, mostly Hizbullah supporters, many of them carrying or draped in Iranian flags.

Huge pictures of the Iranian leader were also on display along with flower baskets placed along the airport road and large balloons in the red, green and white colors of the Iranian flag.

Many streets leading to the airport, located near Hizbullah's stronghold in the southern suburbs, were cordoned off amid tight security. The downtown area near the hotel where Ahmadinejad is staying was also off limits to traffic.

"I am here to express my support for the Islamic Republic of Iran," said Afaf as she stood outside the airport with her two children waving Iranian flags.

"Along with Iran, we are engaged in the same battle against Israel."

Although Ahmadinejad is sure to receive a rapturous welcome from Hizbullah and its allies, his two-day official trip has sparked criticism among Lebanon's pro-Western parliamentary majority who see it as a bid to portray Lebanon as "an Iranian base on the Mediterranean."

The United States and Israel, which have sought to isolate Iran over its nuclear program, have also expressed concern.

Prior to heading to Beirut Wednesday, Ahmadinejad described Lebanon as key base of resistance in the region.

"Lebanon is the focus point of resistance and standing against those who demand too much," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying on the state television's website.

"It is playing an excellent role in this regard," he added.

Ahmadinejad's first visit since his election in 2005 will highlight the clout Iran wields in Lebanon through Hezbollah, considered Tehran's proxy and by far the most powerful military and political force in the small Mediterranean country.

The president's trip also comes at a sensitive time in politically turbulent Lebanon.

Local media on Wednesday said Ahmadinejad is likely to extend his trip by one day till Friday to coincide with a visit by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

On Wednesday, Ahmadinejad will hold talks with President Michel Suleiman who will host lunch in his honor. He will also meet Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tineh before heading to Dahiyeh at 7:00 pm to a warm welcome by Hizbullah and AMAL Movement.

Hizbullah and AMAL will hold a festival at Raya stadium in Beirut's southern suburbs.

Al-Manar television confirmed media reports that Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah will deliver a speech via a large screen during the festival.

On Thursday, Ahmadinejad will meet Prime Minister Saad Hariri at Center House and travel to south Lebanon.

He will also meet Nasrallah, who has lived in hiding since Hizbullah's devastating 2006 war with Israel.

Hizbullah is locked in a standoff with Prime Minister Saad Hariri over unconfirmed reports that a UN-backed tribunal is set to indict members of the militant group over the 2005 assassination of Hariri's father, ex-premier Rafik Hariri.

Tensions over the tribunal have grown steadily in recent weeks, raising fears of renewed sectarian violence and the collapse of Lebanon's hard-fought national unity government.

Nasrallah is expected to appear alongside Ahmadinejad at a rally in Beirut but it is not known whether he will do so in person or via video link.

The highlight of the trip, however, comes on Thursday when Ahmadinejad will be just a few kilometers (miles) away from the Israeli border as he tours southern Lebanese villages destroyed during the 2006 conflict.

He is set to stop in Bint Jbeil, a Hizbullah bastion devastated during the war, and in Qana, targeted in 1996 and again in 2006 by deadly Israeli air strikes.

Iran has been a major donor in the reconstruction of southern Lebanon following the month-long 2006 war, and Ahmadinejad is set to receive a hero's welcome in the area.

Ahmadinejad will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and a delegation of business leaders. He is expected to sign bilateral agreements in the energy and water sectors.

Official banquets organized in his honor will not include Western ambassadors to avoid any walkouts should Ahmadinejad launch one of his trademark tirades against Israel.

The Iranian leader has sparked international outrage by repeatedly casting doubt on the Nazi Holocaust and predicting the destruction of Israel.(AFP-Naharnet)