Beirut, Nov 22, IRNA – Iran’s president said in a message to his Lebanese counterpart , “Beyond doubt observing national unity and peaceful coexistence of various tribes, Lebanon can take steps towards achieving national ideals, development, and blossoming more than ever before.
According to IRNA office in Beirut, the Embassy of Islamic Republic of Iran further reported President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as wholeheartedly congratulating the Lebanese President Michel Suleiman and the Lebanese Government and noble nation and in his message on the occasion of the anniversary of Lebanon’s Independence Day.
In the message which was delivered to President Suleiman on Wednesday it is said, “Your honor’s presence and the dynamic participation of your accompanying delegation at the Tehran Non-Aligned Summit marked a turning point in the history of our nations’ bilateral relations, and was a sign of the two countries’ exalted status at the international scene.”
President Ahmadinejad has emphasized in his message, “I hope thanks to your honor’s sagacious leadership and the insight of the other political groups and personalities in your country we would be witnesses to Lebanon’s stability, security, and rapid development.”
Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic of Iran First Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi in a message to the Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati congratulated the anniversary of Lebanon’s National Day coinciding with that country’s Independence Day.
Rahimi said in his message, “Dear Lebanon can thanks to national unity and peaceful coexistence of various Lebanese tribes move towards materializing national objectives and ideals, and take steps towards ever more development, blossoming, and prosperity of that resistant and proud country.”
The message concludes with the sentence, “I hope thanks to the good management of your honor and the sagaciousness of the other political groups and personalities we would be witnesses to that country’s stability, security and development.”
The Lebanese Independence Day, on November 22, 1943, is a national day celebrated in remembrance of the liberation from the French Mandate which was exercised over Lebanese soil for over 23 years.
When the Vichy government assumed power over French territory in 1940, General Henri Fernand Dentz was appointed as high commissioner of Lebanon. This new turning point led to the resignation of Lebanese president Emile Edde on April 4, 1941. After 5 days, Dentz appointed Alfred Naccache for a presidency period that lasted only 3 months and ending with the surrender of the Vichy forces posted in Lebanon and Syria to the Free French and British troops. On July 14, 1941, an armistice was signed in Acre ending the clashes between the two sides and opening the way for General Charles de Gaulle's visit to Lebanon, thus ending Vichy's control.
Having the opportunity to discuss matters of sovereignty and independence, the Lebanese national leaders asked de Gaulle to end the French Mandate and unconditionally recognize Lebanon's independence. After national and international pressure, General Georges Catroux (a delegate general under de Gaulle) proclaimed in the name of his government the Lebanese independence on November 26, 1941. Countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, the Arab states, the Soviet Union, and certain Asian countries recognized this independence, and some of them even exchanged ambassadors with Beirut. However this didn't stop the French from exercising their authority.
