Reclusive Hezbollah leader praises Ahmadinejad ahead of Lebanon visit, By Yousuf Basil, CNN

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Reclusive Hezbollah leader praises Ahmadinejad ahead of Lebanon visit, By Yousuf Basil, CNN

(CNN) -- Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah praised Saturday the upcoming visit of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Lebanon, his first trip to the country since taking office in 2005.

The reclusive Nasrallah made the remarks during a speech marking the end of a Hezbollah-led campaign to plant 1 million trees in Lebanon.

"President Ahmadinejad is the guest of the (Lebanese) President Michele Suleiman," he said. "The invitation was made official by Lebanon, and we all have to respect this invitation."

"I call on the Lebanese people ... to receive the Iranian President Ahmadinejad and to be part of public activities in high numbers," Nasrallah added.

The United States considers Hezbollah, which has close ties to Iran and Syria, to be a terrorist organization. The Shiite group is a political party and a major provider of social services in Lebanon, but also operates a militant wing.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has expressed concern to Suleiman about Ahmadinejad's upcoming Lebanon visit, according to a State Department spokesman.

"We expressed our concern about it given that Iran, through its association with groups like Hezbollah, is actively undermining Lebanon's sovereignty," U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said earlier this week.

Iran's Press TV says Ahmadinejad is expected to visit Lebanon this month, when he is scheduled to meet with Suleiman, the Lebanese prime minister and parliament speaker, as well as leaders of Hezbollah's resistance movement. The trip is believed to begin Wednesday.

Hezbollah has been linked to numerous terrorist attacks against American, Israeli and other Western targets. Among many Muslims, it is seen as a heroic organization, successful in its stated objective of driving Israeli forces from Lebanon.

Nasrallah also spoke about the visit Ahmadinejad is scheduled to pay to the south of Lebanon, which borders Israel. He denied reports the president plans to throw rocks at Israel.

Meanwhile, some people have said they see Ahmadinejad's visit to Lebanon as an unwelcome display of Iranian influence in the Mideast peace talks.

Lebanon's National News Agency quoted Fares Souaid, the secretary-general of Lebanon's March 14 alliance, as saying the Iranian president's visit sends "a message that means to say that Iran is at the border of Israel! ... While the Palestinians and Israelis are negotiating, the Iranian president wants to stress that Lebanon is a land where resistance is exercised and war against Israel is possible. He wants to remind the international community that Israel's security is in the hands of Iran through its relations with Hamas and Hezbollah -- and hence, he says to the world, you must negotiate with us."