Lebanon's president visits Iran in an attempt to bolster Lebanese unity, writes Raed Rafei Following visits to a number of Western and regional capitals, Lebanese President Michel Suleiman held talks in Tehran on Monday with his Iranian counterpart, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, continuing his international tour to promote an image of Lebanon as a stable and unified country. The two heads of state were reportedly expected to discuss the future of weapons held by the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group, Hizbullah, during the high-profile two-day visit that included the attendance of six Lebanese ministers. "President Suleiman has laid the important Lebanese files, mainly the implementation of international resolutions and Hizbullah's arms, on the table of his talks with all the countries he recently visited," said MP Michel Pharaon, a member of the Sunni-led Future Movement and a former cabinet minister. "It is in Lebanon's higher interest to talk to the Iranians about keeping our country neutral and away from international rows, like the one over Tehran's nuclear programme," he said. "Iran has a responsibility to cooperate in the implementation of UN resolutions on Lebanon." International and domestic pressure has been growing on Hizbullah to lay down its weapons especially following the eruption of internal violence in May. But Hizbullah has refused to budge, insisting that its arms are for defending Lebanon against Israel. For Karim Makdisi, professor of international relations at the American University of Beirut, no breakthroughs should be expected from Suleiman's discussions with the Iranians regarding the Shia group's arms. "I have doubts that Suleiman will have the influence to set terms with respect to Hizbullah's arms. His visit to Iran is more psychological and an image projection one, rather than substantial," Makdisi said. "Suleiman wants to show a position of neutrality. He has been on a tour in the West and now it's time for him to visit Iran as the powerful player on the other side," he added. Since his election as a consensual candidate in May, Suleiman has made trips to many Western and Arab countries, including France, the United States, Saudi Arabia and Syria, to seek support following a return to calm in Lebanon. On Monday, Iran vowed to stand by Lebanon and its government and praised the country's resistance against Israel, according to Iran's official news agency, IRNA. In a joint meeting between Lebanese and Iranian officials, Ahmadinejad said that Lebanon has emerged today as a symbol of courage and perseverance after its war with Israel. "The attack launched two years ago to demolish Lebanon served to restore Lebanon's identity and unity by grace of God," Ahmadinejad said. Suleiman, for his part, described the Tehran-Beirut relations as "good", according to IRNA. "The aim of my visit to Tehran and meeting with senior Iranian officials is to strengthen bilateral ties," the Lebanese president said. "I am thankful for Iran's continuous support for the Lebanese government and nation," he added. Iran's official media also suggested that Tehran was going to offer Lebanon military support for its army. "Suleiman's visit is important because it opens a new chapter in defence cooperation between the two countries," Iranian state radio reported. "Increasing the defensive might of the Lebanese army and other security institutions will strengthen Lebanon against the danger of the Zionist regime," it added. The prospect of Iranian military aid was also echoed in the Arab media in the past few days. The pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat reported that Tehran wanted to bolster Lebanon's official armed forces with heavy weapons, including missiles. Iran has been allegedly supplying Hizbullah with arms since the 1980s. "The Iranians have offered military help to Lebanon more than once, but the Lebanese have always categorically refused, as this was regarded as dangerous to the country," said Sateh Noureddin, managing editor of the Beirut daily newspaper As-Safir. "Even the allies of Iran in Lebanon never took these offers seriously, just stating that it is part of Iran's commitment towards the country," he added. Pharaon reiterated the position of the 14 March political alliance that all weapons and decisions on war and peace should be in the hands of the state. "We don't need weapons unless this means the return of arms to the Lebanese state," Pharaon said. No matter what comes out of Suleiman's two-day visit to Iran, observers say that it maintains an image of Lebanese unity even as squabbling mounts between feuding Lebanese factions with the approach of crucial parliamentary elections next year. Most factions, including those vehemently opposed to Iran's role in the country, have welcomed the president's talks with the Iranians. Fares Soueid, a political representative from the 14 March alliance, said in a statement Monday that all the people of Lebanon supported the visit. Noureddin said that it was not in anybody's interest to object to Suleiman's visit. "It is an official meeting between two states. It is more dangerous to see Iran support overtly only Hizbullah and its other allies in Lebanon instead of opening up to all the factions," he said. Meanwhile, Lebanon provided an image of unity to the world Saturday when the country marked 65 years of independence with an official ceremony for the first time in three years staged in downtown Beirut. Nonetheless, analysts say that Lebanon has not yet developed any clear direction for its foreign and domestic policies. "Suleiman has been so far trying to quench political tensions between feuding factions and play a reconciliatory role, but I don't see that he started really governing," said Noureddin. According to Makdisi, Lebanon does not yet have a foreign policy to speak of. "Since he doesn't have his own political party, Suleiman is just cultivating that he is above petty politics, but beyond that he has no substance to offer," he said. Reportedly, other reasons for the visit to Tehran were to address economic issues as well as cooperation on de-mining South Lebanon.
