Shouts of ‘welcome’ in Persian and showers of rice, sweets and petals greeted President Mahmud Ahmadinejad as he waved to crowds from an open-topped car in Beirut this week. It's his first visit to Lebanon where he addressed Hezbollah-organized rallies of up to 60,000 people. His visit took weeks of preparation and his reception contrasted with Israel's, the United States and Sunni politicians foreboding. Over 200 prominent Lebanese citizens signed an open letter in advance of the trip asking Ahmadinejad to avoid using Lebanon as a ‘spearhead’ for confronting Israel. There have been suggestions that Ahmadinejad will travel to the Lebanese-Israeli frontier and court yet more controversy by throwing highly symbolic stones into Israel demonstrating to the world that Iran is a regional power in a confrontation state with Israel. Israel’s security is challenged as Lebanon, Syria, and Hamas-ruled Gaza are seen to be serving Iranian interests and all of them have threatening capabilities for Israel's civilian population.

Pray: that all strongholds of violence will be disarmed and that Jesus, the Prince of Peace, will rule in these lands. (Ps.29:6)

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