Nasrallah tells Iran VP: Hezbollah ready for any challenge

The Lebanon Daily Star -- Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah said Thursday his party was capable of confronting "all forthcoming challenges." "The Islamic Resistance remains steadfast in its policy and path.

It is confident of victory and its capability to confront all forthcoming challenges," Nasrallah said during a meeting with Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi, who was accompanied by several Iranian ministers.

Nasrallah thanked Iran for its continued support of Lebanon and the resistance party and for "bearing the burden of this humanitarian, ethical and historical stance," according to a statement released by Hezbollah's media office.

The Iranian delegation affirmed "Iran's permanent readiness to help Lebanon in all fields and support it under any circumstances," the statement said.

It added that Rahimi's talks with Nasrallah focused on "the political situation in the region and Israel's threats to the region's states and peoples."

Rahimi also visited the southern suburb of Hareit Hreik, where he laid a wreath at the tomb of the late senior Shiite spiritual leader Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah and recited a Quranic verse. Rahimi was received by the late cleric's eldest son, Sayyed Ali Fadlallah, as well as by a number of religious scholars at the Hassanien Mosque where Fadlallah's tomb is located.

Rahimi, who arrived in Beirut Wednesday, met Thursday with President Michel Sleiman at Baabda Palace before meeting with Prime Minister Najib Mikati along with the Higher Iranian-Lebanese Committee. The committee signed three agreements between the two countries.

Rahimi handed Sleiman an invitation from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the Non-Aligned States' Conference to be held in Tehran.

Rahimi affirmed "Iran's full commitment to support Lebanon and sign cooperation agreements between the two countries," the state-run National News Agency reported.

For his part, Sleiman praised the good relations and cooperation between the two countries and asked Rahimi to convey his regards to Iran's Supreme Leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei and Ahmadinejad, NNA said.

Rahimi also held a closed meeting with Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain al-Tineh to discuss boosting bilateral relations, and current regional and international developments. Berri hosted a lunch for Rahimi and the accompanying delegation attended by Mikati, Cabinet members and lawmakers.

Rahimi later traveled to south Lebanon, where he visited the village of Maroun al-Ras near the border with Israel and attended a Hezbollah ceremony to honor him in the village, which witnessed some of the fiercest battles between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops during the 34-day war in the summer of 2006.

He was welcomed by Hezbollah's Bint Jbeil MP Hasan Fadlallah and a large crowd.

Standing in front of a board that carried a famous statement by Iran's late supreme leader Ayatollah Khomeini -- "Israel must be eliminated" -- and amid an array of pictures of Khomeini, Khamenei and Ahmadinejad, Rahimi said he was proud and happy to be in "this blessed spot."

Referring to Israel's construction of a separation wall with Lebanon, Rahimi said: "The Israeli enemy has become cornered. That's why it is building a separation wall between it and the resistance."

On the 13-month-old crisis in Syria, Rahimi said Iran with all its strength and resources stood on Syria's side, while it supported the Syrian people's legitimate and rightful demands for reforms.

"The overwhelming majority of the Syrian people are standing behind President Assad," he said, adding that "arrogant powers" -- a reference to the United States and its Western allies -- were seeking to inflame strife in Syria.

Rahimi visited "Iran's Garden" in Maroun al-Ras and viewed through binoculars Palestinian towns where Israel built several settlements on the border with Lebanon. -- The Daily Star, with additional reporting by Mohammed Zaatari.