The Tehran conference in support of the Palestinian Intifadeh was a resounding
social success: plane hijackers munched on puff pastry, militia leaders from
struggles past greeted each other warmly. It was a sunny reunion of anybody
who's somebody in the region's resistance underworld. Intended to compensate for
the disappointment of the recent Arab Summit in Amman — which failed to
produce violent rhetoric or come up with funds to support the Palestinians -- the
Tehran summit ended up being mostly about Iran's regional ambitions. Delegates
from 34 Islamic countries assembled to hear Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei demand the annihilation of Israel and cast the Palestinian struggle as
an Islamic cause, a spin that lends Tehran's bid for leadership some legitimacy.Full Story...
