Iran expresses support for Arab League initiative on Lebanon

Source: AFP, 16-1-2008
Iran said that it backs Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa's efforts to persuade warring Lebanese factions to agree on a compromise plan allowing the election of a new president.
"We appreciate the efforts exerted by the Arab League, and we consider it to be a good base to solve the Lebanese problems," Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told reporters.
"We support the Arab initiative presented by Mr. Amr Moussa to all Lebanese sides," he said in a joint press conference with visiting Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Mohammed al-Sabah.
Moussa is to return to Beirut today for another attempt to persuade rival leaders to agree on a plan to end the crisis in Lebanon, which has been without a head of state since former President Emile Lahoud stepped down in November.
The Lebanese parliament has been unable to elect a successor to Lahoud because of the rivalry between the ruling majority and the opposition.
The Arab initiative is based on a three-point plan calling for the election of Army Commander General Michel Sleiman as president, a national-unity government in which no one party has veto power and adopting a new electoral law.