Assir’s economics

We wanted to avoid talking about Hezbollah, we really did. We entered the room with the intention of carrying out our first interview with Sheikh Ahmed al-Assir where he didn’t mention the ‘Iranian Party’ — as he calls the movement led by Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. Yet, it was not that simple. Assir, one of Lebanon’s most divisive figures, has made his name out of Hezbollah. His hostility to the party’s arms and Iran’s influence in Lebanon in general has made Assir the darling of some, the enemy of others and an unpopular character with much of the Lebanese business community. Before the interview, we had agreed with Assir’s assistants that we would primarily be asking him about his economic views, but it appeared that no one had told the Sheikh. When he greeted us and we explained that we wanted to flesh out his views on financial matters, he was