[There is a rally organized in south Beirut, a Hizbullah stronghold. There is no footage of the event yet, but it should be interested. I went to one such rally 2 years ago when I was in Lebanon and it was intense, to say the least. I’ll post the video from the event as it comes online. In the meanwhile, here’s a video that mentions his arrival in passing. I’ve been meaning to comment on Israel’s quest to implement a “loyalty oath” and will as soon as I get a chance.] al-Jazeera Excerpt: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s president, has praised Lebanon for its resistance against Israel before a massive crowd at a controversial rally organised by Hezbollah in the group’s stronghold in Beirut, the Lebanese capital.
“Lebanon is the school of resistance and perseverance against the bullying forces of the world, and is like a university for jihad, for adventure in the way of the noble, human causes,” Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday while calling for a united Islamic world.
Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader, did not appear in person at the rally because of security concerns but welcomed Ahmadinejad in a speech broadcast via video link.
During his first official state visit to the country, Ahmadinejad earlier pledged to stand by Lebanon in confronting what he called hostilities from Israel.
He also extended Tehran’s unstinted support to a “unified Lebanon and its government”.
Ahmadinejad was given a tumultuous welcome on arrival by thousands of Shia Muslims who lined the road from the airport, throwing rice and flower petals at his motorcade.
Even though the Iranian president was on an official visit, Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr, reporting from Beirut, said that Wednesday night’s rally was not organised by the state.
Khodr said Hezbollah leaders have told her that the rally was arranged by the group to “thank the Iranian leader for the political as well as the financial support the Islamic Republic of Iran provided, particularly to Hezbollah supporters, after the 2006 Lebanon-Israel war”.
