Ahmedinejad arrives in Lebanan for two-day visit

The two-day visit would include a tour of villages along Lebanon's tense border with Israel.

The region had been devastated during the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel and rebuilt partly with Iranian money.

During his visit, Ahmadinejad will meet Lebanese President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

He would also attend a rally in the capital Beirut organised by Hezbollah.

It was the Iranian leader's first visit to Lebanon since he took office in 2005.

The highway that runs from the airport to the centre of the capital Beirut had been decorated with Iranian flags and posters for Ahmadinejad's visit.

Although the Iranian leader would be welcome in Hezbollah's strongholds, some members of Lebanon's pro-Western parliamentary majority saw it as a provocation.

Ahead of the visit, Hezbollah's rivals in government had issued a statement saying Ahmadinejad was seeking to transform Lebanon into "an Iranian base on the Mediterranean".