Lebanon Says ‘No’ to Iran Axis

October 16, 2010 - 10:34 AM | by: Karen Liel

Following Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's controversial visit to Lebanon this week, Lebanese daily 'An Nahar' reported on Friday that Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri rejected a proposal by Iranian President Ahmadinejad that Lebanon join the regional axis, which currently consists of only Iran and Syria.

According to the Lebanese newspaper's sources, Hariri told Ahmadinejad that the Lebanese "coexistence formula" does not allow Lebanon to join any regional alliances and that such steps require consultations among the Lebanese parties.

"The values of the Lebanese formula, with all its sectarian components, are the strongest weapon, not to mention that confronting Israel requires high-level economic capabilities," Hariri was quoted as saying.

However, Hariri added "The culture of confronting Israel has been deep-rooted in the minds of the Lebanese since a long time and that they are the ones who have suffered the highest prices and sacrifices in this confrontation in order to support the Arabs' main cause - the Palestinian cause," according to the report.

Hariri's refusal to join an Iranian-led regional alliance, comes as a big relief to Israel, who remains wary of the strengthening ties between the two countries.

Iran currently trains, arms and funds Hezbollah, which has gained power and now has significant control, particularly in Southern Lebanon.

"Unfortunately, Lebanon is rapidly turning into a satellite of the Ayatollahs' regime", Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday. "This is tragic for Lebanon, but Israel will know how to defend itself against such developments."

Read more: http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/10/16/lebanon-says-no-to-iran-axis/?test=latestnews#ixzz12Ycajc9P