Rahimi: Israel cornered, Syrians back Assad

Iranian vice president Dr Mohammad Reza Rahimi The secretary-general of south Lebanon\'s Hezbollah movement, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, on Thursday met Iranian vice president Dr Mohammad Reza Rahimi who was on a visit to the country. The two reportedly

discussed recent developments and the \"Israeli threat to countries and people of the region\", according to official statements.
Tehran also said it would stand by Lebanon whatever the cost.
Nasrallah said his party was capable of confronting “all forthcoming challenges.”
“The Islamic Resistance remains steadfast in its policy and path,\" he said.
The meeting was also attended by energy minister Jebran Bassil, transport minister Ghazi al-Aridi, telecommunication minister Nicolas Sehanoui, education minister Hassan Diab and a number of political officials, including the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Rokn-Abadi.
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.
Nasrallah thanked Iran for \"bearing the burden of this humanitarian, moral and historical position\", and highlighted \"the persistence of the Islamic Resistance in its approach and its ability to cope with challenges\".
Rahimi went to south Lebanon, where he visited the village of Maroun al-Ras near the Lebanese-Israeli border and attended a Hezbollah ceremony to honour him. The village 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 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 separating 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 reform.
\"The overwhelming majority of the Syrian people are standing behind president [Bashar] al-Assad,\" he said, adding that \"arrogant powers\" – an apparent 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 has built several settlements on the border with Lebanon. Iran\'s VP said his country fully backed the Palestinian cause.