Nasrallah's 'IDF rifle' gift to Ahmedinajad dates to '70s

Hizbullah leader claimed present to Iranian president was taken from soldier in 2006 war; IDF says rifle went out of active service 30 years ago.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
Ahmadinjead gets rifle from Nasrallah (photo credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Ahmadinjead gets rifle from Nasrallah
(photo credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah proudly presented Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with a rifle last week during the latter’s visit to Lebanon, and claimed the gun had been used by an IDF soldier during the 2006 Lebanon War.
But the army said on Sunday that the firearm had gone out of service in 1974.
RELATED:Ahmadinejad meets Nasrallah before leaving LebanonIranian president: Lebanon is a university for JihadA photograph released by Hizbullah on Thursday showed a beaming Ahmadinejad receiving the firearm and an accompanying case from Nasrallah, a parting gift at the end of the president’s two-day visit.
“This is almost certainly an FN Fal 7.62 rifle, which has not been used by the IDF since 1974,” an IDF spokeswoman said. “We can therefore conclude that it was not taken from the Second Lebanon War.”
The rifle came with a row of bullets in a large dark red case, which was affixed with a Hizbullah emblem.
During his visit, Ahmadinejad met with Nasrallah on several occasions, offering praise for the Iranian-backed Shi’ite organization while threatening that Israel would soon disappear.
On Sunday, Ahmadinejad continued his anti-Israel rhetoric from Iran, saying that “the Zionist regime is going to hell,” according to the Iranian Student News Agency.
Addressing crowds during a governmentorganized rally in Ardebil, in northwest Iran, Ahmadinejad said, “You see how much they put Lebanese people under pressure over [having invited] an Iranian? What happened following the pressures? What came in Lebanon will change all equations in the Middle East and in the world.”