Iranian General: "US, Mossad played roles in 9/11 event"

A good chunk of the output of the Iranian press consists of stories of this sort. It just isn't worth blogging about every example, but this one has a sort of flaky grandeur:

Following the Iranian president's doubts on the 9/11 event, a top military adviser to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution says the CIA and Mossad were involved in the attacks.

"The US and the Zionists developed the strategy of the September 11 attacks in an effort to counter the Islamic vigilance and to control energy resources in the Middle East," IRNA quoted Brigadier General Yahya Rahim-Safavi as saying on Saturday.

He further added that al-Qaeda and its leader Osama bin Laden did not possess the essential intelligence capacity anywhere near the level of CIA, Pentagon and the FBI in order to conduct the surprise attacks against sensitive centers in the United States on September 11.

According to General Rahim-Safavi, heads of Israel's Mossad and the US played roles in the event.

"The September 11 attacks in the US and the shameful act of Qur'an burning by the US and Zionist regime (Israel) were in line with Islamophobia efforts by enemies of Islam who have fears over the spread of Islam and the Islamic vigilance," he further explained. [...]

Breathtaking bit of conflation there, General. Ahmadinejad, as you may have heard, is planning to visit Lebanon. According to an IRIB Radio headline Ahmadinejad has declared "Iran likes all Lebanese people and groups." Awww:

President Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that Iran is interested in all Lebanese people and groups and intends to reinforce the two countries' mutual cooperation and to consolidate the national unity in this country.

According to IRNA, in a meeting with the Lebanese Minister of Water and Energy, Jamil Bassil, on Sunday, President Ahmadinejad lauded the resistance of the Lebanese nation against the Zionist regime and added that the wise and courageous steadfastness of different Lebanese groups and people against the Zionist regime of Israel is a source of honor. [...]

An IRNA headline asks the question which is uppermost in everyone's mind: "Why are Zionists worried about Ahmadinejad’s visit of S. Lebanon?"

According to IRNA office in Beirut, the Al-Akhabar Monday editorial reads, “Only a week is left to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit of Lebanon that would bring about heavy consequences for the Zionist regime.”

The Lebanese columnist adds, “This is a visit that would clearly put on display the defeat of the US policies and the conservative policies of the reactionary Arab countries, versus the victorious face of resistance in the region...

“That is why the Zionist regime dailies have been adopting intriguing stands regarding Ahmadinejad’s upcoming visit for weeks, particularly considering his visit of southern parts of Lebanon a threat against their own so called national security, encouraging the UN officials to make every effort aimed at canceling the visit!

The Lebanese daily referring to the probable warm welcome of the people in southern parts of Lebanon for the Iranian president, writes, "Ahmadinejad’s probable visit of the southern parts of the country, like Bebt Jubail and Maroun ur-Ra’s, which have been witnesses to the glory of the Lebanese Hezbollah’s victories in the course of the Zionist regime’s imposed 33 Day War in the year 2006 would particularly humiliate that regime all the more.

"The visit from the core stronghold of resistance in the region would take place at a time that the echo of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s officials’ for the annihilation of the Zionist regime is still echoing in the ears of the world nations…" [...]

Somehow I think Ahmadinejad's visit is particularly bad news for Lebanon, even if "Iran likes all Lebanese people and groups."

Crossposted on Soccer Dad