Iran to Attend Arab Summit in Syria

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki is to attend this month’s Arab summit hosted by Syria that is expected to be dominated by the political crisis in Lebanon.

“Mr. Mottaki has been invited and he will travel to Damascus,” foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told reporters during his weekly press conference here on Sunday.

The March 29-30 Damascus summit has been mired in controversy over the crisis in Lebanon amid a standoff between the Hezbollah-led opposition and the pro-government parties backed by the West, the US in particular.

Iran insists it wants to see a solution in Lebanon acceptable to all religious and ethnic groups.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has moved to improve ties with Arab states during the past two years, becoming the first Iranian president to perform the hajj in Saudi Arabia and attend a summit of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC).