Tehran prayer leader tells US to leave Lebanon alone

Tehran's interim Friday prayers leader, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, slammed the US administration for sowing discord among the Lebanese, saying that the ongoing political crisis in the country was created by Washington, Iran's Fars News Agency reported on Friday. "The history of Lebanon shows that the country has never been entangled with such a political crisis," Jannati said while addressing a large congregation of worshipers at Tehran University on Friday.

"One should ask Americans why they don't leave the world people alone, and why they embark on sowing discord," he added, pointing to the problem Lebanon is facing with regard to the election of a president.

Addressing the White House leaders, the cleric further continued, "You created Israel as a cancerous tumor in the heart of Arab countries and you support it. You have caused disunity among Palestinians and you don't leave Lebanon alone."

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Friday postponed for the 11th time, until January 12, a scheduled session to elect a new head of state.

The country has been without a head of state since incumbent Emile Lahoud's term expired on November 23 without feuding political rivals agreeing on a successor.