BEIRUT - Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki headed to Beirut on Monday and said he would denounce Israel's "heinous crime" in the south Lebanon village of Qana where at least 52 people were killed in an air strike.
Meeting his Syrian counterpart Walid Muallem in Damascus en route to Beirut, Mottaki said he would "express sadness and regret at this heinous crime perpetrated by the Zionist entity at Qana".
He also said his trip would underline Iranian "support for the people and government of Lebanon".
Mottaki, whose country is one of the main backers of the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah, will meet President Emile Lahoud, Prime Minister Fuad Siniora and parliament speaker Nabih Berri, officials said.
Israel on Monday agreed to halt air raids on Lebanon for 48 hours following its bombardment of Qana that left many children among the dead, but insisted its war on Hezbollah -- now in its 20th day -- was not yet over.
07/31/2006 13:30 GMT