Ahmadinejad slams Western 'monopoly' on peaceful nukes

Iranian leader awarded honorary doctorate from Lebanese University ahead of visit to Israeli border; gov't spokesman: "Iran's domination of Lebanon through its proxy Hizbullah has destroyed any chance for peace."

By ASSOCIATED PRESS, JPOST.COM STAFF
Ahmadinejad Lebanon 311 AP (photo credit: Associated Press)
Ahmadinejad Lebanon 311 AP
(photo credit: Associated Press)
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was awarded an honorary doctorate in political sciences from the Lebanese University in Beirut, according to a Press TV report.
During his speech at the university, Ahmadinejad reportedly accused the West of blocking other countries from accessing peaceful nuclear technology.
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official: Ahmadinejad in Lebanon is like a 'landlord visiting his domain'“They have deprived other nations of this technology and have monopolized it,” Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying.
The Iranian leader also slammed the US for its military policies in the Middle East, accusing Washington of killing innocent civilians in Afghanistan under the guise of the War on Terror.
"Investing hope in Britain, the US and other Western countries to resolve problems in the region is useless since they happen to be among those that founded the Zionist regime… and definitely cannot play the role of a mediator," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying.
Earlier on Thursday, Ahmadinejad called on all religious scholars and leaders to come together in solving challenges facing human societies during a meeting with Lebanese scholars, clerics and religious leaders on the second and last day of his visit to Lebanon, Press TV reported.
“Scholars of divine religions can put major challenges facing human societies on the agenda to find … solutions to them,” Ahmadinejad said, according to the Press TV report.
"All divine religions guide mankind to prosperity and invite human societies to monotheism, justice and friendship," he added.
Hizbullah supporters used mosque loudspeakers Thursday to rally crowds ahead of a trip by Iran's president to southern Lebanon near the border with Israel.
Ahmadinejad was scheduled to make a trip to Lebanon's Shi'ite heartland in the south and the Israeli border, which will emphasize Iran's support for Hizbullah's fight with Israel.
Residents of southern Lebanese were heading to Bint Jbeil, a border village that was bombed during the 2006 Israeli-Hizbullah war, to greet the Iranian president Thursday afternoon.
Many students in the south skipped school Thursday to await Ahmadinejad.
Government spokesman Mark Regev slammed the trip Thursday, saying "Iran's domination of Lebanon through its proxy Hizbullah has destroyed any chance for peace, has turned Lebanon into an Iranian satellite and made Lebanon a hub for regional terror and instability."
On Wednesday evening, Hizbullah held a General Assembly meeting and mass rally in Beirut in honor of Ahamdinejad. Speaking to the assembled supporters at the event via an interpreter, Ahmadinejad praised Lebanon for being an "example" and called it a "university for Jihad." Lebanon and Iran, he said, are "two nations that love each other and have much in common," primarily the fight against Israel.
He went on to speak about the "Zionist regime," attacking Israel for "the massacre of innocent people" and "violations of international law."