Lebanese Peace Party Leader: Iran, not Israel, the Problem

JERUSALEM, Israel -- Roger Edde, leader of the Lebanese Peace Party, says Arabs should be concerned about Iran, not Israel.

In an appearance last month on Mayadden TV, translated by MEMRI (Middle East Media Research Institute) Edde said Iran, not Israel, is the Arabs' problem. 

"The problem of the Arabs is Iran, not Israel. All the people who call today to fight Israel, while downplaying the concerns about Iran, have a problem. Let Iran give us reassurances. What do we want from Iran? We want it to benefit from the normalized ties that have begun with the international community. I admit that I've been a great supporter of negotiations with Iran since 2003."

As to the latest wave of Palestinian terror attacks against Israelis, Edde said any Arab planning an attack on Israelis knows someone will shoot him. It's the equivalent of a suicide attack, he said.

"These people are suicide-seekers," Edde explained. "The new revolution has begun in Israel, and Israel must not accept this under any circumstances because anybody who tries to carry out any operation knows that he is heading to his death. If he grabs a knife in order to attack a woman, he knows that this is suicide, because somebody will shoot him..."

Edde said he is "interested in moving toward normalized relations. I want Iran to become a country that we respect and that respects us. I don't want it to 'export' the revolution, in an effort to sow civil strife in the Levant and in the rest of the Arab world."

When asked if he considered Israel his enemy, he yes because "we do not have peace with it. We are in a state of war. We have a truce with Israel, and we are committed to the truce," he said.