FAS

Nasrallah: A Self-Portrait

08.14.06 | 1 min read | Text by Steven Aftergood

“I have been reading [former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon’s biography for a while now, and I am going to read the book again.”

So said Hizbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah in an autobiographical note published last week in a Tehran magazine.

In a discussion of his political objectives, he seemed to exclude the possibility of establishing an Islamic Republic in Lebanon.

“Establishing an Islamic Republic is not possible with force and resistance. It requires a national referendum. A referendum that wins 51 percent of the vote is still not the solution. What it needs is a referendum for which 90 percent of the people vote.”

But about 40% of the Lebanese population is Christian.

“Hence, with this assumption, and in view of the status quo, establishing an Islamic Republic system in Lebanon is not possible at the present time,” he said.

See “Seyyed Hasan Nasrallah’s Autobiography,” Ya Lesarat Ol-Hoseyn (Tehran), translated by the DNI Open Source Center, August 10.

In a recent U.S. Treasury Department tabulation of hundreds of terrorist and criminal organizations and individuals, Nasrallah is listed with his passport number and date of birth — August 31. But for some reason his year of birth is given variously as 1953, 1955, 1958 or 1960 (noticed by Amir Oren of Haaretz).

Most news accounts indicate that his year of birth is 1960, though some suggest, probably incorrectly, that he has already turned 46.

publications
See all publications
Emerging Technology
day one project
Policy Memo
Securing Cell-Free Biomanufacturing as a Strategic National Capability

DNA synthesis and export controls remain the primary regulatory safeguards against de novo production of harmful biological agents, yet governance frameworks lack the situational awareness and enforcement capacity to keep pace with rapidly falling technical barriers.

07.02.26 | 11 min read
read more
FAS
Press release
Dr. Jedidah Isler, Chief Science Officer of the Federation of American Scientists, Testifying on “American Global Competitiveness” in Congressional Committee Today

Called today to speak on behalf of U.S. science and technology, Dr. Jedidah Isler, astrophysicist, educator, strategist, policy-maker, and science communicator, will provide constructive, nonpartisan feedback to the House Committee’s hearing “American Global Competitiveness at 250: Legislative Proposals to Secure U.S. Technology Leadership.”

06.30.26 | 4 min read
read more
Government Capacity
Press release
Federation of American Scientists Launches Data Policy Institute to Advance Federal Data Essential to the Public

“Federal data and access to it is not a partisan issue. It is a people issue. Our country cannot achieve greatness without access to the data that measure what we value, who we are, and where we’re heading.”

06.30.26 | 4 min read
read more
Global Risk
Issue Brief
Transforming American Biosecurity

The United States’ biosecurity governance system is structurally incapable of detecting and responding to certain classes of threats. U.S. biosecurity tools have not kept pace with technological advancements or a changing threat landscape.

06.29.26 | 8 min read
read more