Source: AFP, 25-6-2009

Hizbullah Deputy Secretary General Naim Qassem said that the choice for next prime minister will be "an indivisible part of the package deal on the structure of the government."

H.E. told AFP on Thursday that the national unity government "should be convincing to those who will be part of it. Until now the name of the prime minister is not known."

"We will wait for the coming two days, and then we will see what the suggested prime minister will offer. Based on his suggested program we will determine how the opposition will deal with the new government," he said.

Sheikh Qassem also said that the debate is not on the political direction of the next prime minister. "Naturally he will be from the majority and specifically from the Future movement. The debate is on the approach to the formation of the government and on what criteria will be used," he added.

"The opposition has a vision of how it will participate in a national unity cabinet, and it has agreed not to announce its final position, and instead wait to see what will be offered in the cabinet," the Hizbullah leader said.

On the Iranian issue, Sheikh Qassem said that Iran "was able to surpass a conspiracy meant to destabilize it," and that "there is a Western moth in the Islamic Republic of Iran."

H.E. told AFP that Iran is heading to the end of the crisis, and said, "The extent of international, in particular American, meddling in Iranian affairs is now clear. What we are witnessing today is not only an objection to the presidential election, but also riots and assaults on the streets, managed from the outside to destabilize the Iranian system."

"Iran succeeded in showing the outside a clear image of the freedom of choice of the people through a public and transparent competition in the elections," he added, saying, "Hizbullah does not interfere in Iran's internal affairs. When we talk about this young Islamic Republic, we have stressed respect for the choices of its people and forbidding foreign interference in its affairs."