TEHRAN: Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri arrived in Iran Saturday on a first official visit amid a tense political standoff between his pro-Western camp and rival Iran-backed Shiite militia Hezbollah. During his three-day visit, Hariri, accompanied by several ministers, will meet Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other officials, state media reported. Iran's ambassador to Beirut, Ghazanfar Roknabadi, told the official IRNA news agency Hariri's visit was “historic and very important.” Hariri was welcomed to Tehran by First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi, and is expected to meet Ahmadinejad Sunday, Iranian media said. Iranian state television's website reported that during their talks, Rahimi told Hariri that Tehran saw no limit to developing its relations with Lebanon “in every domain.” It reported the Lebanese premier as saying he hoped for “the development of political and economic relations” with Iran. The visit little more than a month after Ahmadinejad made a similar visit to Lebanon, where he was given a hero's welcome by Hezbollah supporters in both Beirut and in the south near the border with Israel, Iran's arch-foe. It also comes amid a tense political standoff between Hariri's camp and Hezbollah over a UN tribunal probing the 2005 assassination of his father, former premier Rafiq Hariri. “The Islamic Republic of Iran has a natural role in the region, especially in resolving crisis and strengthening stability in Lebanon,” Hariri was quoted as saying in an interview with IRNA ahead of the visit. “This visit is taking place while Lebanon is in a very sensitive and complicated situation,” Mohammad Reza Sheibani, Iran's deputy foreign minister for the Middle East, told Khabar newspaper in an interview Saturday. – Agence France
