Iran, Syria say Israel, U.S. dealt a big blow

TEHRAN, Iran — Buoyed by Hezbollah's ability to stand up to Israel's punishing assaults for 34 days, the group's chief sponsors, Iran and Syria, both struck nearly identical tones a day after a cease-fire took effect in Lebanon, heaping praise on the guerrillas as perceived victors for the Islamic world and claiming Western influence in the region was dealt a serious blow.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday that Hezbollah has "hoisted the banner of victory" over Israel and toppled U.S.-led plans for the Middle East.

"God's promises have come true," Ahmadinejad told a huge crowd in Arbadil in northwestern Iran. "On one side, it's corrupt powers of the criminal U.S. and Britain and the Zionists ... with modern bombs and planes. And on the other side is a group of pious youth relying on God."

Ahmadinejad has drawn worldwide condemnation for calling for Israel's destruction.

In Damascus, Syrian President Bashar Assad said U.S. plans for the Middle East were turned into "an illusion" by Hezbollah's resistance to the Israeli military during the 34-day conflict.

The Bush administration has based much of its foreign policy in the Mideast on bringing democracy to Iraq and theorizing that would encourage other countries to follow suit.

"Their 'New Middle East,' based on subjugation and humiliation, and denial of rights and identity, has turned into an illusion," Assad told the Syrian Journalists Union in his first public comments since the Israel-Hezbollah war.

Assad, 40, who is shaped by his late father's lifetime of struggle against Israel, said the Jewish state must return Arab land it has occupied since 1967 or face more insecurity.

Syria wants a comprehensive peace settlement that addresses Israeli occupation of Arab land, including the Syrian Golan Heights. Negotiations over the Golan, a mountainous plateau overlooking Damascus, broke down in 2000.