Iran's Khamenei hails Lebanon's resistance

TEHRAN, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- The Lebanese resistance, a reference to Hezbollah, is the only way to stop the aggressive pursuits of the Israelis, Iran's supreme leader said.

Ali Khamenei, Iran's ruling cleric, said following a visit with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri that Tehran favored a "prosperous, glorious and progressive" Lebanese state, Khamenei's Web site declared.

Khamenei said Lebanon was an "important" country that was able to stand strong against Israeli ambitions in the Middle East.

The top cleric added that the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah was the "only factor" that could stop Israel from continued aggression against Lebanon and Syria.

The Israeli government in November said it agreed to a U.N. proposal to pull its forces out of the northern half of a village, Ghajar, that sits on a U.N.-demarcated border.

Israeli forces took control over Ghajar during a 2006 war with Hezbollah. Israel had refused to leave without security arrangements that would prevent Hezbollah from launching another attack.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, is bracing for possible indictments from a U.N. tribunal probing the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, which Hezbollah leaders say is a conspiracy meant to eliminate the resistance.