Asia

Home page

Asia

Lebanon Wonâ€™t Pressure Iran Over Nuclear Program

30 November 2010 02:59 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Lebanonâ€™s Prime Minister Saad Hariri says his country will not join international efforts to pressure Iran to modify its disputed nuclear program, APA reports quoting â€œThe Voice of Americaâ€.
Mr. Hariri said in Tehran () that Lebanon supports Iranâ€™s right to use peaceful nuclear technology.
Western nations accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons. The Iranian government denies the charges.
Meanwhile, Iranâ€™s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi called on a U.N. tribunal to avoid politicizing its investigation of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Haririâ€™s assassination five years ago â€“ an apparent reference to media reports that the tribunal may charge members of Hezbollah in the 2005 bomb plot.
Rahimi said Iran supports discovery and disclosure of the truth about the truck bomb explosion that killed Rafik Hariri and more than 20 others, as long as the special U.N. tribunal steers clear of politics.
The Shiâ€™ite militant group Hezbollah is supported by Iran and Syria. Its leaders have threatened retaliation if they are indicted.
Media reports say the tribunal may indict members of the Shiâ€™ite militant group Hezbollah in the killing. But leaders of the group, supported by Iran and Syria, have threatened retaliation.
Iranâ€™s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Mr. Hariri Monday about efforts to create instability in Lebanon, and urged the prime minister to strengthen his ties with Hezbollah.
The prime minister, who is Rafik Haririâ€™s son, spoke during a news conference Monday at the end of a three-day visit to Iran.