Haaretz
Av 6, 5766
Israel and its Western allies
are headed toward their decline after the the Israel Air Force's deadly
airstrike on the southern Lebanese town Qana that killed more than 50
people, Iran's president said Sunday.
President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad's comments came on the 19th day of fighting
between Israel
and the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah.
The bombing in
Qana early Sunday destroyed a three-story building and killed at least 54
civilians, more than half children.
"This crime will bring this
corrupt regime and its supporters close to the ending point," Ahmadinejad
said at a news conference.
Ahmadinejad said the United States,
Israel's closest ally, and Britain and srael "think these crimes will
provide their dominance over the region, but they are strongly wrong."
Iran also denied Sunday allegations that it was helping Hezbollah
in its
fight against Israel. "We haven't deployed any forces there
[Lebanon]," said Hamid Reza Asefi, spokesman of Iran's foreign
ministry.
"We don't send weapons to the resistance. We don't
support them militarily If we choose to give them future military support,
we will announce it. We have no fear of Mr. Bush and company," he
added.
Syrian President Bashar Assad Sunday that Israel's attack in
Qana constituted "state terrorism."
"The massacre committed by
Israel in Qana this morning shows the barbarity of this aggressive entity.
It constitutes state terrorism committed in front of the eyes and ears of
the world," Assad said in remarks carried by state news agency
SANA.
It said Assad telephoned his Lebanese counterpart Emile
Lahoud to express his shock.
The raid on the southern village of
Qana was the bloodiest single attack during Israel's offensive, Hezbollah
and rescuers said the death toll might rise.
Syria, a main backer
of Hezbollah, has been supplying electricity, fuel and humanitarian aid to
Lebanon, whose infrastructure has been targeted by Israeli
attacks.
Syria has also received more than 150,000 Lebanese
refugees since the war began on June 12.
The United States and
other Western governments have repeatedly charged that Iranian and Syrian
support has enabled Hezbollah to carry on its fight against
Israel.
Jordan king calls attack 'ugly crime'
Earlier in
the day, Jordan's King Abdullah called the attack an "ugly crime" and
urged an immediate ceasefire to end Israel's military
offensive.
"This criminal aggression is an ugly crime that has been
committed by the Israeli forces in the city of Qana that is a gross
violation of all international statutes," the monarch said in the first
reaction by an Arab leader to the raid.
"We call for an immediate
ceasefire and the international community must shoulder its responsibility
to find a way out of this crisis to put an end to the Israeli aggression
on Lebanese territory and end the suffering of the Lebanese people," he
added.
U.S. ally Jordan, along with Arab states Saudi Arabia and
Egypt, are worried that a prolonged conflict could undermine moderate Arab
states that support regional peace and strengthen the hands of radical
Muslim groups across the region