Tehran: Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi said
on Wednesday that Iran is ready to offer military aid to Lebanon,
after a call for Tehran's help from the leader of Lebanon's
Shiite militant movement Hezbollah.
"Lebanon is a friend and its army is our friend," General
Vahidi told reporters after an Iranian cabinet meeting, state
television reported on its website. "We are prepared to help
them ... should there be a request."
On Tuesday, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah proposed the
Lebanese government seek military aid from Iran.
"I vow that Hezbollah will work fervently and capitalise
on its friendship with Iran to ensure it helps arm the
Lebanese military in any way it can," Nasrallah said in a
televised speech.
He insisted that if Lebanon made an official request,
"Iran will not hold back in supporting the Lebanese army in
any way it can."
Nasrallah, whose movement is backed by Tehran and
Damascus, made the call following a US freeze in its military
aid to Beirut in the wake of deadly border clashes between
Lebanese and Israeli troops.
On August 10, US Congressman Howard Berman, chairman of
the House Foreign Affairs Committee, announced he had placed
on hold USD 100 million in aid to Lebanon's military.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, August 25, 2010, 18:39