An Interview With Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah

"One reason for this hostility is that U.S. administrations for decades have always supported dictatorships in the Islamic world. The people of the Muslim world have held the U.S. responsible for what these governments did." He cites the U.S. role in installing the Shah, and American support for Saddam Hussein, "I can assure you that to allow democracy will begin removing the barrier and the well of hatred against the US. But the real thing is to deal positively with the outcome of the elections."

Lebanon:

During the interview, Nasrallah received phone calls about an agreement for Shiite members of the cabinet to return to the government -- ending Lebanon's political crisis. He said the issue was "99 percent resolved" and that the settlement will have two principle elements: Prime Minister Fuad Siniora's statement Thursday in parliament saying that Hezbollah was not a militia, but a resistance movement, and Siniora's agreement that major political decisions will be made within the government on the basis of consensus.

On independence from Iran:

"Am I supposed to meet [President] Ahmadinejad in secret?...We are the party in Lebanon that is the most independent, that takes its decisions by itself."

On Sunni-Shia tensions:

"I believe the most dangerous thing we confront is the so-called Zarqawi phenomenon. This is a creed of killing, without any responsibility -- to kill women, children, to attack mosques, churches, schools, restaurants. These bloody events are a major factor in creating tension between Sunnis and Shia."

Can he be a leader like Hariri?

He says he can't travel widely, developing the same network of Arab and international contacts. "I can't have such relations. I'm included on a terrorist list."

Can he ever imagine Hezbollah changing, Israel changing, America changing so that he wouldn't be on that terrorist list?

"The whole world will change. This is the law of life." He adds that the decision about recognizing Israel in the end belongs to the Palestinians. "They have the decision. Nobody can substitute for them."