TEHRAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will visit Lebanon after Ramadan, a top official said Sunday, as Tehran pledged its support to Beirut and Damascus in the face of any “aggression” from Israel.

“The president will go to Lebanon at the first occasion after Ramadan,” Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said at a joint news conference with his visiting Lebanese counterpart Ali al-Shami.

Later on, Shami held talks with Ahmadinejad.

The holy month of Ramadan is expected to begin on Thursday in Iran, depending on the sighting of the new moon.

The last visit by an Iranian president to Lebanon was by reformist Mohammad Khatami in May 2003. Lebanese President Michel Sleiman visited Tehran in November 2008.

Mottaki also pledged Iran’s support to Lebanon and Syria against any threats from Israel.

“The government of the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation are standing with the Lebanese and Syrian governments and nations against the aggression and threats of the Zionist regime,” Mottaki said.

He said Iran was holding continuous consultations with Beirut and Damascus and Iran was “ready to answer positively any request from its brothers.”

Mottaki and Shami lashed out at Israel as they condemned the Israeli state for the recent clashes along the Israel-Lebanon border and the May 31 raid by its commandos on an aid flotilla heading to the blockaded territory of Gaza.

“The survival of the Zionist regime is facing serious problems,” Mottaki said in comments translated by the English-language Press TV channel.

The Iranian minister also expressed confidence that the recent visit to Lebanon by regional leaders would lead to further stability, convergence in the region and stronger consensus among the Lebanese.

On July 31, Syrian President Bashar Assad paid a joint visit to Lebanon with Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdel-Aziz during which both leaders held a tripartite summit with Sleiman.

The Qatari emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifah al-Thani visited Lebanon as well.

Shami, who acknowledged Iran’s support over the Arab-Israel issue, said that “Israeli aggression” was due to its “hostile nature.”

“We are completely aware of … Iran’s legitimate right to use peaceful nuclear energy and we support it,” said Shami.

He described the recent United Nations Security Council resolution against Iran as cruel and unjust, saying intensification of sanctions against Iran was an instance of the West’s double-standard policies.

Shami thanked Iran for its support to Lebanon, and especially during Israel’s deadly war against the country in the summer of 2006.

Shami is visiting Iran on the invitation of Mottaki, during which he is due to meet Iranian officials with whom he will discuss bilateral ties and the situation in Lebanon and the region.

Also on Sunday, Shami held talks with head of the High Council for National Security in Iran Saeed Halbali, after which he emphasized Lebanon’s readiness to defend its territories against any Israeli aggression.

He highlighted the need for coming up with a decision to eliminate Israeli threats against states in the region, a move which he said could take place through disarming Israel.

On August 4, a deadly firefight on the border between Israel and Lebanon took the lives of an Israeli colonel, two Lebanese soldiers and a Lebanese journalist.