Ahmadinejad Congratulates Hezbollah for 'Beating Paper Tiger Zionist Regime'

Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sent a letter to Hezbollah Chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah ahead of Lebanon's 12<sup>th anniversary of Liberation Day, when the Israeli army withdrew from the country in 2000.

The Iranian embassy in Lebanon issued a statement saying, Ambassador Ghadanfar Rukn Abadi had given the letter penned by the president to Nasrallah.

"Ahmadinejad, in the letter, praised the Hezbollah secretary general and the great Lebanese people and its government, particularly the role of the resistance during this period," the statement said.

The state-run Islamic Republic News Agency gave further details on the content of the letter quoting the president as saying ""Beating paper tiger of Zionist regime shook shaky columns of occupation throughout the world".

Ahmadinejad went on to praise the martyrs who died in the war, who he said "paved the path for the Lebanese nation's greater victory in the course of the 33 Day War, and the awakening of the Muslim nations aimed at materializing their absolute rights and defeating despotism, oppression and occupation."

Celebrated on May 25, Liberation Day marks the end of over two decades of Israeli occupation of south Lebanon, except for the land of Shebaa Farms, which remains under Israeli control but is claimed by Lebanon.

In 2006, Lebanon and Israel faces each other engaged in a 33-day conflictin Lebanon and northern Israel.

Iran's message of support to Lebanon and Hezbollah comes as an Iranian delegation is holding talks with six leading world powers in Bagdad, Iraq over the Islamic Republic uranium enrichment programme.

The so-called P5+1 nations - the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany- are pushing for Iran to make concessions on its nuclear programme.

However as the meeting, which started on 23 May entered its second day, there was no signs of solid gains made as Iran's state-run agency called the western proposals "outdated, not comprehensive and unbalanced".