Druse leader says Lebanon should turn to Iran for arms against Israel, calls for Iran-Arab unity.
By JPOST.COM STAFFjumblatt 248.88(photo credit: AP)
Lebanese Druse leader Walid Jumblatt told an Iranian news source that his country should turn to Iran for weapons to counter an Israeli attack.
"[The Israelis] are not hiding that, they are saying we will attack or we will one day come to Lebanon again," said Jumblatt to Press TV in Beirut on Saturday.
Jumblatt also called for the opening of contacts between Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Iran, claiming that unity among them will discourage an Israeli attack against Lebanon or Iran.
"We need anti-tank weapons and anti-aircraft weapons... I think we can find such weapons in Iran or in Russia or in China," said the leader of Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party, a faction dominated by the country's Druse community and once a key part of the pro-Arab and pro-Palestinian National Liberation Movement.
"Americans are not really willing to provide us with such weapons. They will tell you these weapons will be used against Israelis. Okay, but my enemy is Israel," added Jumblatt.
In his interview, Jumblatt stressed the need to overcome the traditional conflict between Sunni Arab states such as Saudi Arabia and the predominantly Shi'ite Iran.
Jumblatt's statements came a day after two Katyusha rockets landed in northern Israel. The IDF responded Friday by firing some 15 artillery shells at the source of the fire in southern Lebanon.
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