BEIRUT, Lebanon, Nov. 19--Hezbollah Leader Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah urged his followers in a speech aired Sunday to be ’psychologically’ ready to take to the streets in mass demonstrations to support the militant group’s demand for a national unity government.
But Nasrallah, who did not set a date for the demonstrations, warned that the protests should be peaceful and avoid riots, AP reported.
“We must psychologically be ready to take to the streets. It is one of the means for the required movement,“ Nasrallah said.
“We do not want riots ... We respect private and public properties. We will not allow any clash even if they (anti-Syrian groups) staged a counter street demonstration,“ he said in the speech, which he made Saturday but was aired Sunday on Hezbollah’s TV station Al-Manar.
Nasrallah’s calls for demonstrations comes amid mounting political and sectarian tensions in Lebanon as a result of a power struggle between rival factions in the wake of Hezbollah’s 34-day war with Israel last summer.
The militant group has demanded that Lebanon form a national unity government that would essentially give it and its allies veto power over major decisions. But negotiations among groups broke down last week, and six cabinet ministers, including two from Hezbollah, resigned.
The Hezbollah leader repeated his demand for the unity government as a way out of the current crisis that has crippled political life, but he denied that his group was seeking veto power or trying to overthrow the government of western-backed Prime Minister Fuad Siniora.
“Come, let’s form a national unity government ... Nobody is raising arms, nobody is making a coup or popular revolution,“ he said.
Nasrallah accused Siniora of falling under the influence of the US President George W. Bush’s administration.
“This is the government of Feltman and not the government of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora,“ Nasrallah said, drawing applause and chants of “Death to America“ from the crowd.
He was referring to the US Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman who has repeatedly reaffirmed his country’s support for the Siniora government, which is dominated by anti-Syrian factions.
“We want to liberate our country from the hegemony of Ambassador Feltman and the bloodsucker Rice,“ he said, referring to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Hezbollah has accused Rice and the Bush administration of foiling UN attempts at the Security Council to arrange an early ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in order to give Israel enough time to try to destroy Hezbollah’s military infrastructure. The fighting ended with a UN-brokered ceasefire resolution on Aug. 14.

ISFAHAN, Nov. 19--In case of any aggression against Iran, the country’s armed forces “would attack the enemy military bases within a range of 2,000 km“, a top military official said late Saturday.
Speaking to a group of Basij (volunteer) forces in this central province, Commander of the Islamic Revolution’s Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Yahya Rahim-Safavi added that the Iranian armed forces would not be stopped at the borders and will attack enemy military bases within a range of 2,000 km, IRNA reported.
“The IRGC’s missile and artillery units are ready to counter any possible attack by enemies with their advanced defense equipment and technology,“ he said.
Rahim-Safavi stressed that Iran is pursuing a defensive and not an aggressive policy.

ORUMIEH, West Azarbaijan, Nov. 19--Those above 18 years whose mothers are Iranian and their fathers are foreign nationals will be granted Iranian birth certificates.
Ahmad Hosseini, director general of the Bureau for Aliens and Foreign Immigrant Affairs, also told IRNA on Sunday the Interior Ministry has been notified of the Majlis ratification, based on which all Iranian women who marry foreign men will be invited to furnish information about their children once they reach 18 years.
Hosseini noted that special, temporary ID cards will be issued to all those who have not adopted Iranian nationality as yet. “About 30,000 Iranian women have married foreign nationals. Although there is nothing wrong with these marriages from the religious point of view, they have not been registered in a public notary office,“ he said.
Elaborating on the manner in which birth certificates will be issued, the official stressed that only those who are above 18 years and adopt Iranian nationality will receive Iranian birth certificates.
“According to the Interior Ministry’s plan, all illegal nationals will be identified in different Iranian cities,“ he said.
Parliamentarians ratified the double-urgency citizenship draft law on September 2. As per this ratification, the Interior Ministry is responsible for issuing marriage permits and certifying that the child was born in Iran based on Article 1060 of the civil law.
Islamic Republic of Iran Police is authorized to issue residential permits for foreign fathers of such children.

TEHRAN--People of north and northwestern provinces as well as some parts of the country witnessed on Sunday the first autumn snowfall that resulted in closure of schools, while the Meteorological Organization of Iran has forecast more snowfall. (Mehr File Photo)