Greeted
at Beirut airport by the Lebanese triumvirate of President Emile Lahoud,
Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and parliament Speaker Nabih Berri,
Khatami's motorcade drove through tens of thousands of people lining the
route, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Young
women sprinkled rice and rose petals over him when he got out of his car
to greet the well-wishers at one point in the Shiite-populated southern
suburbs.
It
took more than an hour to cover the seven kilometers (less than five
miles) from the airport to the seafront hotel where Khatami and his
120-member delegation were staying.
One
of the main issues in talks with Lebanese president Emile Lahoud on
Middle East developments is expected to be the role of the Hizbullah
organization, according to the BBC online news service.
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Hizbullah
is to be the top item discussed by Khatami and Lahoud
|
The
resistance group is sponsored by Iran and is regarded as the main
driving force behind Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon in April
2000. It is still present in the border area, where they launch periodic
raids on the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms Lebanese territory.
Since
the fall of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, the United States has been putting
pressure on Lebanon, Iran and Syria to revise their longstanding support
of Hizbullah.
In
an interview with the official Iranian news agency, President Lahoud
said Khatami's visit would shore up support for Lebanon as a center for
(anti-Israel) resistance.
"Recent
changes in the region oblige us not only to consult each other but also
to act to confront their consequences while sticking to our rights and
our positions," he said. "We must not appear disunited and
submissive, easy to conquer."
In
remarks quoted in the Lebanese newspaper As-Safir,
President Khatami said American and British forces had suffered a moral
defeat in Iraq.
"The
greatest mistake will be if the invasion forces attempt to impose a
system that is immoral and alien," he was reported as saying.
U.S.
Secretary of State Colin Powell discussed Hizbullah when he held talks
with Syrian President Bashar Assad earlier this month in Damascus.
Syria
acknowledges giving political support to Hizbullah but denies channeling
arms to the group.
The
reformist Iranian President is to travel on to Syria, Yemen and Bahrain
in a trip that comes as Iran, Lebanon and Syria face strong U.S.
pressure to halt support for Hizbullah.
Hizbullah's
deputy secretary general, Sheikh Naim Qassem, and the group's members of
the Lebanese parliament, were on hand at the airport when Khatami
arrived to a 21-gun salute, AFP said.
"I
am sure that Mr Khatami's visit and the subjects we are to discuss will
be extremely serious, so that we can face up to unacceptable pressures
and solutions," Lahoud added.
Despite
the strong words, Lebanese press reports said Khatami was expected to
call for restraint on the part of Hizbullah when he meets its leader
Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, AFP said.
His
agenda Monday included meetings with Hariri, Berri and Lahoud.
Accompanying
Iranian ministers and their Lebanese counterparts are also due to sign
one accord for an Iranian loan of 50 million dollars for Lebanese
infrastructure projects and another for boosting trade.
On
Tuesday, May 13, Khatami is to make a major speech at a Beirut sports
stadium.
