This was aired yesterday on CNN as part of The Situation Room: 

BLITZER: Well do you suspect that Syria is pulling the strings now, and encouraging Hezbollah to undertake that cross-border raid that killed and kidnapped those Israeli soldiers? In other words, do you see Syria as responsible for this war?

HARIRI: I think Syria has been always not playing a positive role in the region. I think Syria needs to decide on which side it needs — it wants to be. We in Lebanon decided that we want peace, we want to get a central government. Yesterday as you know Wolf, we made a historic decision in the Lebanese cabinet and I think we have taken that decision that the international community has waited for the past 30 years. I think Syria hasn’t been playing a positive role, and now it’s knocking on the doors of the international community. And on the blood of the Lebanese children that it could play a positive role. If it wanted to play a positive role, it should have played it without people asking you.

BLITZER: But you do believe, and I want to move on to talk about the current issues, you do believe that Syria played a role in killing your father?

HARIRI: Yes I do.

BLITZER: All right. Let’s talk about this decision that the Lebanese government made to deploy Lebanese army troops to the south to get Israeli forces out. You know, there’s a lot of criticism that this Lebanese army is so weak, it really doesn’t have the wherewithal, the stomach, the ability to get the job done. Do you think it can control Hezbollah, disarm Hezbollah and make sure that Hezbollah doesn’t get more weapons to rein rockets down on northern Israel?

HARIRI: I think the way you need to look at it, Wolf is this way. The Lebanese government or the international community has been asking the Lebanese government to make such a decision for the past 30 years. And now, the Lebanese government has taken that decision. There aren’t any missiles coming out from Beirut or other places that the Lebanese army is there. The Lebanese army — once it goes to the south, like the cabinet said, that it will control the south, and it will be the only one bearing arms in the south. So, I think, instead of criticizing the Lebanese government, I think one should take what — a brave decision, everybody took last night, and it was a unanimous with the consensus of Hezbollah and everyone on the table, and this decision has turned the table, and I think it should turn the table, and it should responsibilize the government into making sure that the security and the south be taken care of by the Lebanese government. And I think this army has a big potential in securing those frontiers. And also, you should not forget that there will be the UNIFIL alongside of it, with a new mandate and with a new force and I think that will help the security of the south.

BLITZER: You point out that the two Hezbollah ministers in the Lebanese government approved this decision yesterday. But let me ask you point blank, do you trust Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah?

HARIRI: I think if they didn’t want this decision to be unanimous, they would have been clear in stating that opinion. They would have been clear in objecting that decision. I think Hezbollah took that decision with the Lebanese government to responsibilize the central government, and I think we should not criticize, but we should take what we have on the table and move forward. I think the Lebanese army has been — the Lebanese government has been, you know, crying for some new equipment, and I think, with today’s equipment, the Lebanese government can, and if it gets better equipment, it will do a better job in securing the south for all of Lebanese.

BLITZER: Saad Hariri, one quick final question, I know you suspect Syria has played a negative role in all of this. What about Iran, because there’s a lot of people, including the president of the United States, who sees Iranian influence, especially the close relationship with Hezbollah, as being at least in part responsible for this war?

HARIRI: You know I’m afraid, Wolf, you know this war has nothing to do with Lebanon. This war has everything to do with the regional conflict that is starting on with the nuclear, with Syria and with everything. Lebanon is being used as the playground for these big conflicts between all of these nations. And this is what we’ve been trying to avoid all along. We know very well, everybody’s interest, Iran’s interests, Syria’s interests, and what’s going on with the uranium enrichment. And everybody knows that. But what we’re trying to do, what we’re trying to say, that Lebanon today took a forward decision to take its — to take the initiative back to the Lebanese government, and forbid, and forbid everyone to play on the playgrounds on the grounds of Lebanese territories. We want a strong government, and what we’re saying to everyone, to everyone that strength (INAUDIBLE) into Lebanese politics that we will not stand for this and we will not accept it and we’ll even fight it.