Lebanon proves Iran's major regional status with historic welcome : MP

Tehran, Oct 16, IRNA – The historic welcome extended to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his newly-ended visit to Lebanon indicated Iran's major status in the region, senior MP said Saturday.

Rapporteur of the Iranian Parliament's (Majlis) National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Kazem Jalali told IRNA that Lebanese shrugged off Zionists propaganda against President Ahmadinejad's visit to Lebanon.

The Iranian President received a heroic welcome during his two-day stay in Lebanon which ended Thursday night.

Jalali said that the 'unprecedented' welcome of the Lebanese people from President Ahmadinejad conveyed many messages.

The People of Lebanon have shown much willingness in the Iranian President's visit to their country, rejecting the baseless accusation of the Zionists who said Iran was interfering in Lebanon's internal affairs, Jalali said.

The MP also compared the way that Western leaders and, unlike them, the Iranian President visited regional states, noting that President Ahamdinejad's fearless visit to the regional countries is rooted in Iran's significant place among regional states.

'Western leaders, including US officials, pay nightly and unexpected visits to regional states such as Iraq and Afghanistan and leave those countries immediately while President Ahmadinejad's visits to the said countries were pre-planned,' Jalali said.

He added that President Ahmadinejad was not afraid of appearing among local people despite existing threats against him 'as this is the people of the regional states who provide his security.'/end