Hezbollah leader Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah is known as the most admired leader in the Arab world, a recently released poll has indicated.

According to a poll by the University of Maryland, Hassan Nasrallah is the most admired leader across the Arab world, followed by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The poll which covered some 4,000 people in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates has found that a majority of Arabs see the three - Nasrallah, Assad and Ahmadinejad - as the only leaders standing up against US influence in the Middle East.

Some 83 percent of respondents held an unfavorable view of the United States, while 70 percent express no confidence in the White Hose.

US President George W. Bush, meanwhile, stands at the top of the unpopularity poll with 63% followed by Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert with 39%.

SB/RE