Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the current Iranian President, was on a visit to Lebanon.
This page was used to cover this historic (and controversial to some extent) event in details, including all his stops , his meetings, his comments and speeches etc…
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was also expected to visit Bint Jbeil and the village of Maroun al-Ras in Southern Lebanon, where preparations had been already underway for D-day…
Iran has supported Lebanon and its resistance movement for more than 10 years now, and has generously contributed to the latest reconstruction efforts after the 2006 aggressions, providing approximately 60% of the financing. See the Waad Project, which is now 80 percent finished… a remarkable achievement in a record time! Thousands of families are now settled in their newly furbished homes, where frightening rubble used to lay.
Talks are also underway with the Lebanese Minister of Energy and Water Gebran Bassil to resolve the everlasting electricity cuts in the country, and hopefully provide 24/7 electricity! That would be another miracle, if it does happen that is!
To note that on October the 9th 2010, Che Guevara’s eldest daughter Aleida Guevara visited the blue line borders in the South, where she also made a small speech in support of the Lebanese Resistance. This was only days after Isabel Frangieh, Lawyer and PR of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez in the Arab World also visited the frontiers.
A few months ago Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Saudi Arabian King Abdullah (the first Saudi monarch to visit the country since 1957) also made an unprecedented joint visit to Lebanon.
Qatar’s emir Sheikh Hamad and his beautiful wife Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al Missned also went on a pilgrimage to the victorious south, which they had also helped rebuild.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit comes in a very critical time, right after the Syria Arrest Warrants, and right before the possible indictment of Hizbullah by the Netherlands-based court looking into the Hariri slaying affair (that the whole world is interfering in starting with the US).
Also check the bright analysis of expert Rafik Nasrallah (more than 6 months ago!), who will help you understand what is really going on in the Middle East (and Lebanon in particular) at the moment!
You may leave your thoughts about this below…
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visit to Lebanon
Khosh Omadid Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad…
Day 1 of visit:
Iranian President Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Beirut on his historic visit on the 13th of October 2010. His presidential plane landed at around 8.55 am in Beirut International Airport, where Speaker Nabih Berri (representing President Michel Sleiman as per protocol) received him at around 9.10 am. Ahmadinejad greeted the Lebanese and Iranian officials… He saluted the fathers of martyrs Imad Moghniyeh and Sayyed Abbas Moussawi, before greeting his fellow Iranian expatriates who were also cheering for him at the airport and waving Iranian and Lebanese flags. Berri to Ahmadinejad: Your visit was already important to friends but has became even more important thanks to our enemies… Ahmadinejad to Berri: An old Iranian say postulates that an enemy also has unexpected positive effects, in god’s will…
Popular Reception: Crowds that had gathered since the early morning awaited Ahmadinejad’s convoy along the Airport road, Cocodi area in Beirut’s Suburbs near Rassoul el Aazam Hospital. They were holding Iranian and Lebanese flags as well as balloons in the 3 colors that happen to reunite the 2 national flags. Along with the families of martyrs, the Lebanese people greeted with flowers and rice Ahmadinejad who passed in his motorcade and popped out of his vehicle to wave back… defying any security risks. Other participants were also present such as the Palestinians from the different camps (like Bourj Barajina), as well as other Arab visitors…
Official Reception: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad then headed to Baabda’s Presidential Palace, where he was welcomed by the Lebanese President Sleiman as well as PM Saad Hariri and the Cabinet Members etc…in an official ceremony like is usually done in such events including the national anthems, 21 fires etc… To note that an unprecedented number of more than 340 international media outlets were covering the event at the Baabda Palace alone.
The two leaders held a private meeting, followed by a press conference. Sleiman thanked Ahmadinejad for standing by Lebanon in the face of Israeli aggressions, and added to the media that they had discussed the bilateral relations and the ways to consolidate them. Ahmadinejad thanked the Lebanese people, officials and President for their hospitality…He added to the press that Iran and Lebanon have common interests, and a number of deals and understandings in different fields had been signed. He also thanked Speaker Berri and PM Hariri who he said were working for the interest of their country. He added that Lebanon had changed equations in the region, which he wished would remain calm and clear of foreign interventions. At the end of the press conference, Ahmadinejad offers a gift to Sleiman, a state of the art technological device owned by only 6 countries in the world. The nanoscope (the latest in nano technology)will be sent to the Lebanese University.
At 4.25 pm, Ahmadinejad layed a flower wreath at the Tomb of the unknown soldier at Beirut Central District, in the company of Defense Minister Elias Murr.
Mal3ab el Raya gathering: At 7pm, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived at the Raya field in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where thousands of Lebanese were gathered.
Sayyed Nasrallah then delivered a welcome speech to Ahmadinejad, on behalf of Amal Movement and Hezbollah. He thanked his guest’s courage, his modesty and his service. He added that the West doesn’t like Ahmadinejad because he speaks the truth. Iran (and Ayatollah Khamenei) has always sought to end sedition between Muslims and Christians, as well as between Muslim sects themselves…and gave examples.
Ahmadinejad then followed with a speech in Persian. To note that he refused to deliver his speech from behind the bullet proof glass that was set for him: Lebanon is the cradle of freedom, and is a school of resistance and determination. Imperialist capitalist hegemonies and tyrannical forces seek to control the region, its people, its riches, and its cultures. They regard Muslims, Christians, and Jews who seek justice as their enemies. Previous colonialists who were defeated have changed their skins but have kept their initial objectives, killing civilians, using prohibited weapons, assassinating, attacking convoys then blaming others for their own doings. They seek to sow discord in the region, like in Lebanon, where they targeted a dear friend before accusing other friends of doing it. Every time they occupy a country, they play on the sectarian chord, or on the ethnic and national differences, such as in Iraq. They took 9/11 as a pretext to attack Afghanistan and then to occupy Iraq. To know what really happened in 9/11 and uncover the conspiracy, the black box is yet to be examined. Thousands have been abducted and put in jails but we don’t hear anything from human rights defenders of the world. The Iranian diplomats abducted during Israel’s occupation of Lebanon are still alive in Israeli jails. The way to solve the Palestinian issue is to acknowledge their rights and return the refugees to their homes. Anyone who recognizes Israel will become isolated by the people of the region. He lastly called upon the UN to prove they are really an organization of the United Nations, and urged them instead of recognizing occupation, to recognize the legitimacy of the right of the Palestinian people to be sovereign. The Lebanese cause and that of the Iranian people is one, so we are with you on the same front. Finally he thanked President Sleiman, Speaker Berri, PM Hariri, S.G. Sayyed Nasrallah, and the Lebanese people and officials.
In the evening, Ahmadinejad meets with Speaker Berri in his headquarters at Ain el-Tine, on a dinner invitation.
Day 2 of Ahmadinejad visit to Lebanon:
The following morning on October the 14th 2010, Ahmadinejad had breakfast with the representatives of the various Lebanese confessions.
At 11 am, President Ahmadinejad attended a ceremony organized for him at the Lebanese University, where he was received with cheers and applause as usual.
At the Lebanese University hall, he is greeted by a massive audience, chanting ‘Khosh Omadid’. The Lebanese and Iranian anthems were played, followed by a welcome speech by University Dean Dr. Zuhair Shokr.
Ahmadinejad then received an honorary doctorate from the Minister of Education and the Lebanese University Dean, right after he gave his acceptance speech pointing that real sciences and knowledge should serve mankind, peace, love, and brotherhood…
Later that day, he met with PM S. Hariri in the government headquarters before heading south to Bint Jbeil.
He then arrived at Bint Jbeil stadium to take part in the mass rally organized by Hezbollah and Amal Movement in his honor. MP Mohamad Raad first welcomed Ahmadinejad in Bint Jbeil, where he said the Zionist myth had fallen and victories had been celebrated.
Ahmadinejad then saluted the crowds and thanked God for the golden opportunity he was blessed with to finally meet with the southerners, who faced the enemy and safeguarded the sovereignty and independence of their country. He added that their Resistance was stronger than the injustice of their neighbor. ‘You proved that no force in this world can defeat your resistance and steadfastness’. He then called Bint Jbeil, the site of freedom, the resistance’s stronghold and victories’ bastion.’Occupied Palestine will be liberated because of the Resistance’s strength and faith…Injustice will reach its end and all the oppressed will achieve victory…The Iranian nation will always side at the side of the Lebanese nation and all nations of the region in all circumstances’.
Ahmadinejad then headed to Qana, where he payed tribute to the martyrs of this southern town.
Ahmadinejad then headed back to the Presidential Palace for a final meeting with Sleiman. He also met with Sayyed Nasrallah at the Iranian Embassy where they exchanged gifts and words.
Two unforgettable days filled with excitement and emotions had finally come to an end…Ahmadinejad left Lebanon back to Iran in the evening at around midnight.
For more than 5 consecutive days after that, the western media (including euronews) resorted to broadcasting non-stop negative reports on Iran and Ahmadinejad.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had also expressed her concern about the visit of Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Lebanon.