E-MAIL THIS LINK
To: 

Iranian, French FMs meet
IRANIAN Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, whose country is a main backer of Hezbollah, met his French counterpart in Beirut today for talks on resolving the crisis in Lebanon. French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said earlier today in Beirut that contacts with Tehran were needed to help restore stability to the Middle East.

France and Iran have called for an immediate ceasefire to halt the war between Hezbollah and Israel. The United States has refused to back calls for an immediate halt, instead calling for a sustainable end to the conflict which erupted on July 12 when Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers in a raid into Israel. Mr Douste-Blazy had said Iran was a significant, respected player in the Middle East which is playing a stabilising role, putting him at odds with Washington which accuses Iran and Syria of destabilising the region.

“Mr Douste-Blazy said Iran was a significant, respected player in the Middle East which is playing a stabilising role”
Mr Mottaki met Mr Douste-Blazy at the Iranian embassy in Beirut. Journalists were invited to the Iranian Embassy to cover the meeting but Mr Douste-Blazy had not been expecting press and did not want to speak to reporters, Iranian embassy sources said. Iranian embassy officials escorted cameramen and photographers to see Mr Douste-Blazy sitting on a couch with Mr Mottaki. "The Islamic Republic of Iran underlines the necessity for an immediate halt to the attacks of the Zionist entity on Lebanon," Mr Mottaki told reporters after an earlier meeting with Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh.
Posted by: Fred 2006-08-01
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=161458