The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Tehran

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday praised Lebanese resistance against Israel, in a meeting with Lebanon's President Michel Sleiman, state news agency IRNA reported.

Ahmadinejad said a 34-day war in 2006 between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah, in which more than 1,200 people died, led to "many achievements for the Lebanese people and the region." "The Lebanese disappointed the enemy forever and crushed the myth of the enemies' invincibility," Ahmadinejad told Sleiman, who is on a two-day visit to Tehran accompanied by six ministers.

"The attack two years ago which was intended to destroy this country became a turning point for recovering Lebanon's identity and unity," Ahmadinejad said.

Sleiman described relations between Tehran and Beirut as "good" and said his visit was aimed at "meeting senior Iranian officials and strengthening bilateral ties," IRNA reported.