Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Qassem on Friday issued a stark warning to the Lebanese government over its push to strip the Iran-backed militant group of its weapons, declaring that the country would have “no life” if arms were taken by force.
Qassem vowed that Hezbollah would resist any attempt at disarmament, cautioning that such a move could trigger internal conflict and jeopardize Lebanon’s national security.
He also accused the government of yielding to Israeli pressure, alleging that its leaders were “carrying out an American-Israeli agenda to dismantle the resistance, even at the cost of civil war and domestic turmoil.”
“The resistance will never lay down its arms while aggression endures and occupation remains,” Qassem declared, vowing to confront what he called an “American-Israeli scheme” regardless of the cost. He urged the government not to “surrender the nation to an unrelenting Israeli aggressor or an American power driven by boundless ambition.”
Qassem said Hezbollah and its Shi’ite ally, the Amal movement, have postponed street demonstrations against a US-sponsored disarmament initiative, citing ongoing opportunities for dialogue with Beirut’s leadership. However, he warned that future rallies could extend all the way to the US Embassy in Lebanon.
His remarks came as the Lebanese cabinet proceeds with a Washington-backed plan to dismantle Hezbollah’s military arsenal — a process tied to a 2006 UN Security Council resolution that went largely unenforced until the group suffered heavy losses in the 2023–2024 war with Israel.
Lebanese Information Minister Paul Morcos confirmed that the cabinet had agreed in principle to the US-backed proposal, which calls for “a phased removal of non-state armed factions from Lebanese territory, including Hezbollah, in areas north and south of the Litani River.” He noted, however, that the plan’s finer points had yet to be thoroughly examined.
The initiative seeks to further diminish Hezbollah’s influence, which has been waning since the 2024 truce with Israel and the emergence of a new Lebanese administration.
Last week, Hezbollah ministers stormed out of a cabinet session discussing the disarmament plan, dismissing it as a “grave sin” and pledging to behave “as though it did not exist.”
On Wednesday, President Joseph Aoun reaffirmed his commitment to the proposal, cautioning a visiting senior Iranian official against meddling in Lebanon’s domestic matters.
In his meeting with Ali Larijani, head of Iran’s highest security council, Aoun stressed that “no one has the right to bear arms or exploit foreign support as a bargaining chip.” Although Tehran opposes the plan, Larijani promised that Iran would maintain its backing for the group.
Hezbollah has long operated as an extension of Iranian influence, often aligning its actions with Tehran’s agenda.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have faced a string of setbacks in their prolonged campaign to destroy Israel, a fight that intensified after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israeli towns ignited the ongoing Gaza war.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, endured heavy blows to both its leadership and infrastructure after launching cross-border strikes on Israel the day after the Hamas-led incursion. Israel responded in September 2024 with a large-scale military offensive, which concluded with a ceasefire two months later.
Jerusalem has made clear it will act militarily if Beirut fails to rein in the group, continuing to carry out airstrikes in Lebanon despite the truce. Israeli officials argue these operations address violations of the agreement, which they say explicitly permit such responses.
