Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah has said it is no secret that Iran is aiding Hezbollah by sending money and weapons via Syria. In remarks published in an interview in the weekend issue of the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai Al-Aam, Nasrallah also is willing to receive aid not only from Iran but also from Muslim countries that have diplomatic ties with Israel, such as Egypt, and states that are considered moderate, such as Saudi Arabia.The interviewer, Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim, said he met Nasrallah several days ago in Lebanon. Ibrahim, a vocal critic of the Egyptian regime, is the chair of Cairo's Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies. Nasrallah told Ibrahim that his organization kidnapped Israeli soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser in order to effect the release of Lebanese prisoners being held in Israel, but admitted that he had made mistakes. "Perhaps we erred, only God does not make mistakes, and we have apologized to the Lebanese people for this and have paid a heavy price in blood. We do not hesitate to sacrifice our children in the name of our righteous struggle," Nasrallah said.
According to Ibrahim, Nasrallah denied any ambition to be a pan-Arab or pan-Islamic leader, or even to lead Lebanon. "My agenda is based on one principle, ridding the oppression and injustice from which the Shi'ite sect in Lebanon suffers and turning the Shi'ites into genuine partners in leading and creating the state, and removing the Israeli threat," Nasrallah said.