Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei urged visiting Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Monday to \"consolidate relations\" with Hezbollah hailing the current good ties Hariri has with Hezbollah Secretary Ge

Sayyed Khamenei Receives Hariri: Consolidate Good Ties with Hezbollah
Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei urged visiting Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Monday to "consolidate relations" with Hezbollah hailing the current good ties Hariri has with Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

"As long as the occupying Zionist regime exists, Lebanon needs resistance," Sayyed Khamenei said. "The only element of deterrence against the occupying Zionist regime is the element of resistance," he was quoted as saying.

"If the government and the Resistance form part of the same front, this country will follow the path of greatness and development, and the Zionist regime will not be able to do it the least harm," his eminence said.

Hariri is on the third and final day of an official visit to Iran.

On Sunday, Hariri hailed Iran\'s assistance to Lebanon, calling for the expansion of defense cooperation between Tehran and Beirut. "The Islamic Republic of Iran has done great things for Lebanon in difficult situations," Hariri said in a meeting with Iran\'s Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi.

"The defense ministries of Iran and Lebanon should pave the way for the expansion of defense relations between the two countries through cooperation," ISNA quoted Hariri as saying.

General Vahidi described the Lebanese army and Hezbollah as two powerful arms for defending the country\'s territorial integrity and said, "Iran has always announced that it will stand beside the Lebanese army and the resistance, and is ready to meet Lebanon\'s defense needs." "Iran\'s defense equipments and capabilities belong to the Muslim nation and are at the service of stable security in the region," Vahidi concluded.

Hariri paid a visit to Iran Khodro Company (IKCO), lauding Iran\'s progress in the auto industry. He toured the leading Iranian automaker company and said Iran\'s achievements in the auto manufacturing industry are a source of pride and glory for both Iranian and Lebanese peoples. “We have agreed with Iran Khodro Industrial Group to set up a committee to examine ways for further collaboration,” he said.

IKCO Managing Director Javad Najmoddin said his company is willing to supply Lebanon with IKCO products, noting that by establishing a joint committee the automaker would be able to enter the Lebanese market.

Hariri, who was accompanied by six of his ministers, visited Peugeot 206\'s body and engine assembly lines. Najmoddin presented Hariri a Samand Soren sedan. The IKCO managing director also said that over 5,000 Peugeot 206 SD and Peugeot 206 Hatchback have been exported to Lebanon so far.

Iranian ambassador to Lebanon Ghadanfar Roken Abadi stressed that Hariri\'s Tehran visit has "opened a new page of bilateral cooperation in various fields," including economy, trade, culture and science. He told the daily An-Nahar in remarks published Monday that Hariri\'s visit aimed to step up cooperation at the highest level.