Nasrallah: Hezbollah capable of running Lebanon if it wins election

The Lebanese Shi'ite movement Hezbollah will be capable of "managing" Lebanon if it wins the country's upcoming elections, the movement's leader Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday.

"I tell those who are betting on the [Hezbollah-led] opposition's failure during elections: The resistance that defeated Israel can govern a country that is 100 times larger than Lebanon," said Nasrallah, speaking at a university graduation ceremony in Beirut.

The Hezbollah leader was apparently referring to the 2006 Second Lebanon War, which his militant organization sparked by kidnapping two Israel Defense Forces soldiers. Over 150 Israelis and one thousand Lebanese died during the 34-day conflict.

He added that if the opposition won a majority in June 7 parliamentary elections, it would not beg the current ruling majority "to be our partners in the governing process."

A tight race is expected between the opposition and the Western-backed majority, which Nasrallah accused of being behind the country's sectarian problems.

"We, Hezbollah, have always rejected the division of Lebanon and we shall always maintain this," he said.