In Lebanon, Iran FM visits Israel border, extolls Hezbollah

By BASSEM MROUE
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — Iran’s top diplomat has visited Lebanon’s border with Israel, expressing support for the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group in its struggle against their common enemy: Israel. Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has been in Lebanon since Wednesday, meeting top officials and expressing Tehran’s readiness to help build power stations in an effort to try to end the Mediterranean country’s prevailing electricity crisis. He visited the border village of Maroun al-Ras on Friday. Earlier this month, Israel launched rare strikes into southern Lebanon, hours after militants fired nearly three dozen rockets from there at Israel, wounding two people and causing some property damage. Iran is a main Hezbollah backer and has supplied it over the past decades with weapons and funds.