BEIRUT: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrives in Beirut on Wednesday for a controversial visit, the highlight of which will be a tour of Lebanon’s volatile border with his arch-enemy Israel.
The hardline leader during his two-day official trip — his first to Lebanon since he became president in 2005 — will meet with his counterpart Michel Sleiman as well as Prime Minister Saad Hariri and parliament speaker Nabih Berri.
He will also attend a rally in the Lebanese capital organized by the powerful Shiite militant group Hezbollah, considered a proxy of Iran.
But the most anticipated and controversial part of the visit will be on
Thursday, when Ahmadinejad is scheduled to tour several villages along Lebanon’s southern border with Israel.
The region was devastated during the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel and was rebuilt with the help of Iranian money.
Ahmadinejad is sure to receive a rapturous welcome in Hezbollah’s bastion in the south but his trip is not sitting well with some members of Lebanon’s pro-Western parliamentary majority who see it as a provocation.
"Indirectly he is coming here to tell the international community that if it wants security in the Arab world, that goes through Iran because of its position as a super Islamic power," said Fares Souaid, coordinator of the "March 14" alliance.
"He is saying that Lebanon is an Iranian base on the Mediterranean and he is using Lebanon as a mailbox to send a message to the international community," Souaid told AFP.
The United States and Israel, which have sought to isolate the Iranian regime because of its controversial nuclear program, have also reacted negatively to the visit with the Israeli government saying it could undermine regional stability.
But beyond that, the visit comes at a pivotal moment in Lebanese politics. Hezbollah and Hariri’s camp are locked in a standoff over unconfirmed reports that a UN-backed tribunal is set to indict members of the militant party for the 2005 murder of Hariri’s father, ex-premier Rafiq Hariri.
Tensions over the tribunal have grown steadily in recent weeks, raising fears of sectarian violence and the collapse of the national unity government, in which Hezbollah has two ministers.
"At stake is whether Ahmadinejad is coming to show support for Lebanon or whether he plans to use Lebanese territory as a springboard for his own interests," said Fadia Kiwan, head of the political science department at Beirut’s Saint Joseph University.
"The Lebanese and Hezbollah in particular, must fully take advantage of Iran’s support but must also realize the limits of this support, that it’s a double edged-sword," she added.
Ali Akbar Javanfekr, a senior aide to Ahmadinejad, told AFP that the Iranian president’s visit was of "historical importance and would influence regional equations."
"The trip aims to consolidate the bilateral relations in several areas and it is within the framework of our strategic foreign policy with the regime in Lebanon that this visit has been planned," he said.
"There are also emotional ties between the two countries, apart from a long historical relation based on common religion and culture."
Ahmadinejad will be accompanied on his trip by Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and a delegation of business leaders from the private sector.
A number of agreements covering the energy and water sectors will be signed during the visit.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah at the weekend called for a massive turnout to greet the Iranian leader on his arrival and denied rumors that Ahmadinejad planned to throw a symbolic stone across the border at Israel.
It was unclear whether Nasrallah, who has lived in hiding since the 2006 war and is considered a prime Israeli target, would appear in person alongside Ahmadinejad at the Hezbollah rally or via video link.
He has not appeared in public for more than two years.
