Iranian FM backs Suleiman and denounces US "meddling"

Source: Nowlebanon.com, 26-05-2008
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Monday welcomed the election of Lebanon's new president as a first step toward stability in the country and denounced US meddling in the region.
Mottaki, who spoke before leaving Beirut where he attended a parliament session on Sunday to elect army chief Michel Suleiman president, said Iran had stood by a Qatari mediation to end Lebanon's long-running political crisis.
"The first fruit borne (from the Doha deal) has been the election of Suleiman," Mottaki told reporters.
Mottaki brushed aside accusations that Tehran meddled in Lebanese affairs pointing the finger instead at Washington.
"US President George W. Bush is the one meddling in Lebanese affairs when he encourages the ruling bloc to elect a president with a simple majority," he said.
He was referring to statements by the US administration which had said it would back the ruling coalition in Lebanon if it went ahead with a simple majority vote in parliament to end a presidential void.
"The Americans must correct their mistakes in the region and we must teach them to listen," Mottaki said.
Suleiman was elected president with 118 votes in the 127-member parliament. The presidency had been vacant since November when Emile Lahoud stepped down at the end of his mandate with no successor because of a political standoff between rival parties.