00:00I want to ask you, one senior figure in Hezbollah compared President Daoun, seemed to be warning
00:08President Daoun in the process by comparing him to President Anwar Sadat of Egypt, who
00:14was, of course, assassinated, and said that if he made a peace deal with Israel, he risked
00:20a similar fate.
00:22I mean, do you think that's Hezbollah threatening the president of Lebanon, that if he does
00:26this, his life is in danger?
00:28You know, it's not just him.
00:30There was another Iranian advisor that said something similar towards the Lebanese prime
00:35minister as well.
00:36These are real threats that should be taken seriously.
00:40And of course, it's not unprecedented.
00:42Lebanese figures have been killed in recent Lebanese history while trying to engage this
00:47issue.
00:48My own father was targeted and eliminated by Hezbollah while trying to reach out to the
00:53Iranian regime from Lebanon.
00:54A proactive diplomacy meant to end Hezbollah's weapons in the country through diplomacy and
01:01dialogue.
01:01He was killed as well.
01:03I think those threats should be taken seriously.
01:05But that said, I don't think Hezbollah announces their assassinations ahead of schedule.
01:11If they are, if there's a security risk to them, which means if there's a real security
01:17threat to the Iranian regime's security interests here, I think you will see assassinations return.
01:23And of course, Sadat is that example of somebody killed signing a peace deal with Israel.
01:28I don't think we're even there.
01:31I think where we are right now is the appetite and appeal for a form of national consensus that
01:37can produce a permanent ceasefire and a return to armistice.
01:41And armistice served Lebanon's interests in its earlier years.
01:45Armistice kept the border quiet at a time where the Lebanese army was weaker and at a time where
01:52the Lebanese army's budget was less and the border with Israel was much quieter.
01:58Lebanon was spared those years when it had a form of neutrality and a form of international
02:03protection that worked for Lebanon.
02:05I think if there's a goal in mind right now, it's to reset and rethink how to get to those
02:11conditions.
02:12Peace, normalization, tourism, an exchange of embassies and ambassadors were not there.
02:18I think if I had to guess, Lebanon will probably tag along to a much more broader regional
02:25appetite for that to happen.
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