Lebanon courts Iran to avert turmoil

Published on Saturday 27 November 2010 14:41

LEBANON'S premier Saad Hariri has expressed concerns for stability in the Middle East on a visit to Tehran.

He aims to rally Iran's support for his efforts to stabilise his own country amid tensions over a UN probe into the assassination of his father, Rafik Hariri.

The visit follows President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's October tour of Lebanon, during which the Iranian leader reinforced Tehran's ties to the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group, which his Shi'ite regime supports.

The exuberant welcome Hezbollah staged for Ahmadinejad in Lebanon forced Hariri's Western-backed factions in government onto the defensive.

Lebanon's fragile unity government, which includes Hezbollah, has been struggling ahead of expected indictments by the UN tribunal investigating the murder 2005 of former premier Rafik Hariri.

Speculation that Hezbollah members will be indicted in the case has fuelled fears of a new political crisis and violence in Lebanon, and raised concerns over how Iran might react.

Iran, whose ties to Hezbollah date back nearly 30 years, allegedly funds the militant group to the tune of millions of dollars a year and is suspected of supplying much of its weaponry. Hariri underlined his concerns by telling his Iranian hosts: "Impairing the stability of any country of the region is a threat to the interests of Arabs and Iran at the same time. Therefore, I consider Iran is concerned by all efforts to provide elements of stability in all countries of the region, including Lebanon."

He is set to meet Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Ahmadinejad on his two-day visit.

Former lawmaker and official in Hariri's Future Movement, Mustafa Alloush, said the visit could have "some effects on Lebanon," adding that diplomacy doesn't always affect "what happens on the ground".