Visiting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his accompanying delegation met the Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei on Saturday, July 29.
Speaking at the meeting, which was also attended by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Leader referred to the valorous resistance of the Lebanese nation and Hezbollah, describing it as an indication of the fact that the Islamic and Arab world are fed up with and rising against the United States.
Ayatollah Khamenei stated that, today, the entire Islamic world and Arab nations and also other broad-minded nations across the world are supporting the Lebanese Hezbollah. He added that because of the Hezbollah's brave resistance against the United States and the Zionist regime, Hezbollah's leader Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah has become a very popular personality in the Arab and Islamic world.
"If today an opinion poll is conducted in Arab and Islamic countries, nations will express their strong support for the Lebanese Hezbollah's resistance," he noted.
The Leader of the Islamic Republic referred to the Zionist regime's military aggression against Lebanon as a war planned by the United States.
"U.S. politicians entered the Zionist regime in this war, assuming that they would be able to take a long practical step towards an American Middle East; but they had disregarded the Lebanese nation in their calculations," the Leader pointed out.
Ayatollah Khamenei stated that the so-called new or the greater Middle East which the United States is aiming at is a region pivoting on the Zionist regime in which the U.S. intends to set up puppet governments.
"The preemptive attack by the Lebanese Hezbollah caused the United States and the usurper Zionist regime to take a reactionary stance, and the heroic and marvelous resistance of the Lebanese nation and Hezbollah, which epitomizes the power of this nation, caused the U.S. plot to fail," Ayatollah Khamenei observed.
He further stated, "Of course U.S. politicians are not yet able to analyze the situation, and they are unable to rightly estimate the power of the Lebanese nation. Therefore, they are accusing others of interfering in Lebanon."
Further in his statements, the Leader described the present ruling clique in the United States as an ignorant group unaware of the world's realities and afflicted with illusions.
"Instead of trying to understand the reasons for their failures, the United States and the Zionist regime have taken a reactionary stance, killing the defenseless people of Lebanon," the Leader noted.
Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the crimes that are being committed by the Zionist regime in Lebanon with U.S. support as among the most unprecedented atrocities. He added that under these circumstances, the so-called civilized world and the organizations claiming to support human rights and democracy do not feel the prick of conscience and make no objections.
The Leader stated that, under the present circumstances, the most important duty of governments and nations with human conscience is resistance and solidarity.
"Today, the world has changed, and many nations have experienced an awakening. They object to the unfair stances taken by the United States, since nations hate it very much and will react when a superior power acts like the owner of the world," the Leader added.
Elsewhere in his statements, Ayatollah Khamenei agreed with the Venezuelan president's remark to the effect that the United States has reached the end of its era in the world. "This reality can be seen today, and the number of nations and countries that are standing up to the United States is also increasing as time goes by," he pointed out.
The Leader of the Islamic Republic also hinted at the stances taken by President Chavez on international issues. He stated that the Venezuelan president's stances are reminiscent of those taken by the Latin American revolutionary personality, Simon Bolivar.
Ayatollah Khamenei further stressed the need for the expansion of cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Venezuela in all spheres of activity.
President Hugo Chavez, for his part, expressed pleasure over his second visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran. He called Venezuela's Bolivarian Revolution a brother of Iran's Islamic Revolution.
"We are determined to expand our relations with Iran in various sectors, and the two countries have signed several agreements to promote their cooperation," he told the Leader.
The Venezuelan president stressed that the power of the American empire is declining. "Today, a retrograde trend can be observed with respect to U.S. power, an obvious example of which is Latin America, where the governments opposed to the United States are increasing in number," he noted.
President Chavez also underlined the need for solidarity among countries that share similar stances against U.S. policies. He said that these countries should try to increase their power and strength by expanding their cooperation, and that they should not be daunted by U.S. threats.
