TEHRAN (Agencies) – Ali-Akbar Velayati, the current senior advisor to the Supreme Leader, said a new Middle East would undoubtedly be created but it would be quite different from what the U.S. is seeking, IRNA reported.

"Regional states have long known that they can overcome the paper tiger -- the Zionist regime -- which superpowers have created," former foreign minister Velayati told an international conference themed Zionist Aggression: Regional and Global Consequences.

A group of thinkers, analysts and political and academic figures from the Islamic world participated in the one-day conference. The former foreign minister compared the measures taken by Western states in the Balkans war and measures now being undertaken in the war in Lebanon, saying the emphasis is on wasting time and letting the greatest number of Muslims be massacred."

Pointing to the massacre of 200,000 Bosnians and the silence of the West during the Balkans war, he added that "the same events are being repeated in Lebanon."

The Security Council is mandated to preserve international peace and security, he said, and regretted that the "U.S. has prevented establishment of a ceasefire in Lebanon while Secretary of State (Condoleezza Rice) in her regional tour makes it clear that a new Middle East would have to be based on U.S. demands."

He said the U.S.-France draft resolution calling for a ceasefire in Lebanon has been changed under U.S. pressure, and added that the change is intended to meet the Zionist regime's interests.

"If the Zionist regime continues its attacks on Lebanon, it will sustain more damage. This is while the Lebanese Hezbollah will continue to resist like a mountain.

"The United States and West intend to implement parts of UN Security Council Resolution 1559 that they could not implement. They intend to implement parts of their new Middle East plan in Lebanon and Palestine.

"The Islamic world and Lebanon will not yield to their sinister designs," Velayati stressed.

Lebanon has objected to the French-U.S. text because there is no explicit call for Israeli troops to leave Lebanon after any ceasefire starts.

It also wants a stronger reference to the disputed Shebaa Farms region, which is occupied by Israel.

UN draft resolution on Lebanon "one-sided": Mottaki

Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki said that the draft resolution on Lebanon is "quite one-sided.

"The resolution, in its current form… is like another offensive being waged against Lebanon," Mottaki told the seminar on Zionist Aggression: Regional and Global Consequences.

The difference is that "the ongoing offensive is military in character while the draft resolution is political," he added.

Mottaki said the draft resolution does not call for withdrawal of Israeli forces that have entered Lebanon.

The Zionist regime is carrying out a savage offensive on Lebanon and has entered Lebanese territory, but the draft resolution simply speaks of a ceasefire and does not demand withdrawal of the Zionist forces," the minister added.

Mottaki said Iran will support an agreement reached by all Lebanese groups.

Ahmadinejad, Annan discuss draft resolution on Lebanon

President Mahmud Ahmadinejad called on the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to take "a courageous measure" to establish an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon.

"The Zionist regime has been attacking Lebanon for 27 days on the pretext of releasing two captured Israeli soldiers and has destroyed its infrastructure and has killed dozens of Lebanese children and women," Ahmadinejad told Annan in a telephone conversation on Monday.

Ahmadinejad said the Israeli regime and its staunch ally the United States don’t hide their intention to want to change the map of the Middle East.

He said it's a shame for humanity that the United States has vetoed the establishment of a ceasefire in Lebanon.

Referring to the extreme anger of regional nations about the indifference of international organizations regarding the continued Israeli attacks on Lebanon, he warned against an "explosion" in the region which could spread into other countries.

Ahmadinejad said the Security Council's draft resolution on Lebanon is in line with the interests of the Zionist regime.

Annan, who made this telephone call, expressed regret over the continued Israeli assaults on Lebanon, stressing that he is trying his best to stop these hostilities.

"I hope this crisis will be weathered through long-term measures," Annan said.

"I also accept the views of the Islamic Republic about the necessity of adopting a just and basic solution to this issue," he said.

Lebanon should be equipped with anti-air defense system

Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Chairman Alaeddin Borujerdi said Iran expects Islamic states cut relations with the Zionist regime.

The top lawmaker voiced support for the international call for an immediate ceasefire with no pre-conditions, exchange of prisoners and setting up of a committee to undertake reconstruction of Lebanon after the war is over.

He told the seminar Lebanon should be equipped with an anti-air defense system, adding that this would discourage Zionist air attacks on Lebanon.

Borujerdi urged international efforts to compel the Zionist regime to compensate for the damage it has inflicted on Lebanon and Palestine.

Arab FMs oppose the draft resolution

A French-U.S. plan to end fighting between Israel and Hezbollah hit mounting difficulties Tuesday as Arab ministers took their objections to the UN Security Council.

Russia also raised problems and said the Security Council should urgently pass a resolution calling for a "humanitarian ceasefire" if a plan could not be quickly agreed.

The U.S. and French ambassadors to the United Nations held new talks on the draft resolution, diplomats said, but four weeks into the conflict the Security Council appeared no closer to voting for action.

France and the United States say they would consider changing the draft and the talks have been made more urgent by a Lebanese government offer to deploy 15,000 troops in southern Lebanon if Israeli forces withdraw.

France traditionally has influence in Lebanon, while the United States is the main Israeli ally. The draft "calls for a full cessation of hostilities based upon, in particular, the immediate cessation by Hezbollah of all attacks and the immediate cessation by Israel of all offensive military operations."

It also sets out conditions for an international force to be sent to Lebanon, but a second resolution will be needed to set out a mandate, which could delay the deployment of any force.

Arab League chief Amr Mussa, Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani and United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan were to put Lebanon's case at a Security Council public debate on the Middle East.

The Arab League envoy to the United Nations, Yahya Mahmassani, expressed hope that France and the United States could be persuaded to change.

"They have said it is not a take-it or leave-it proposal," he told reporters.

Russia took up growing international impatience at the lack of action at the United Nations. Diplomats said no vote was expected to be passed before Wednesday, at the earliest.

"If differences remain over the current draft, a short UN resolution on a humanitarian ceasefire should be adopted immediately as an intermediate step," Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Denisov said in a statement released in Moscow.

Russia cannot support a Security Council resolution on the conflict that is opposed by Lebanon, Russia's UN envoy said.

"For us of course, a draft that is useless to the Lebanese side must not be adopted since it will only lead to the continuation of the conflict," Vitaly Churkin told the Russian news channel Vesti-24.