Election Result Foiled Takeover by Iran, Syria
Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir said that poll outcome has prevented takeover by Iran and Syria.
Had the opposition won parliamentary elections, "Syria and Iran would have taken control of our country," Sfeir said in remarks to al-Massira magazine, excerpts of which were published on Friday evening.
The opposition "wanted to take over Lebanon," Sfeir stressed. "They can say what they want. But the president is the president. He is the one who rules Lebanon now."
Asked whether he was pleased to see that the political weight did not go to March 8 forces, Sfeir said: "Don”t you know that weight transfer means that both Iran and Syria and Palestinians in the opposition would have gained the upper hand in the Lebanon situation."
Sfeir said Syria "still has some ambitions in Lebanon" even after it withdrew its troops from Lebanon in 2005.
He stressed that the presence of pro-government forces and the opposition in the government is "not encouraging in light of (threats) of obstruction and veto."