Hariri to visit Iran - first president in 23 years to do so

Prime Minister Rafik Hariri will be visiting Iran on the 25th of October, at the invitation of Iranian President Mohammed Khatami. The visit, which will last five days, is the first of its kind for a Lebanese prime minister in 23 years. The prime minister will be discussing economical and political issues with the Iranians, namely the situation in the Middle East. He will be accompanied by a delegation of ministers.

Elsewhere, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged Hizbullah's secretary general Hassan Nasrallah to enlarge the Resistance's basis by allowing Christians and Druze to join it, and by "rearing intellectuals and ideologists as well as fighters."