Iranian vice president confers with Hizbullah party chairman

Iranian Vice President Muhammad Rida Aref on Thursday evening in Damascus met with the secretary of the Lebanese Hizbullah party who came to congratulate Aref on his new post, according to a statement by the Iranian embassy in Damascus where the meeting was held.

The statement said that the two sides discussed conditions in the region.

Nasrullah described the incidents of September 11 against New York and Washington as "terrorist acts" and denounced this incident and this "terrorist movement." But Nasrullah stressed the "right of the Lebanese people to the Jihad" in order to restore back their usurped rights and occupied territories and to release the detainees held in the Israeli jails, end the continued violations and threats against this country."

He considered that the only way to "defend the unity of the Lebanese soil and people is resistance." Nasrullah noted the "Intifada of the Palestinian people against the Zionist occupation," stressing that " the settlement process has reached a blockade and that the victory of resistance in south Lebanon has enhanced the determination of the Palestinians to continue the Intifada."

Nasrullah highly appreciated the support and backing given by Iran's people and government and the various moral and political support given to the Lebanese resistance movement and the repressed Palestinian people.

In this meeting, Aref expressed support for the resistance of the Lebanese people and the uprising of the Palestinians. He expressed hope that the Palestinian people will restore back all their rights in the near future and liberate all its territories.