Under U.S. pressure, Lebanon tasks its army with dismantling Hezbollah’s arsenal, but the Iran-backed terror group vows it will never disarm under current conditions.
Lebanon’s fragile government has taken its boldest step yet against the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization — ordering the Lebanese Armed Forces to present a formal disarmament plan by the end of 2025.
The decision, announced after a six-hour cabinet meeting chaired by President Joseph Aoun, follows mounting U.S. diplomatic pressure and is part of the November ceasefire framework designed to end more than a year of clashes between Hezbollah and Israel, including two months of fierce warfare.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam confirmed that the army has been tasked with formulating a strategy to ensure all weapons are under state control. “The plan is to be presented to the cabinet by the end of August for discussion and approval,” Salam said at a press conference.
But Hezbollah’s reaction was swift and defiant. Two ministers aligned with Hezbollah and its ally, the Amal movement, stormed out of the meeting in protest. Hezbollah’s deputy leader Naim Qassem outright rejected the move, declaring during a televised address:
“Any timetable presented under Israeli aggression cannot be agreed to. This is not negotiation — this is dictation.”
Qassem blasted the proposal brought by U.S. envoy Tom Barrack as an American-imposed diktat.
Since Lebanon’s civil war ended in 1990, Hezbollah remains the only militia allowed to keep its weapons, citing its so-called “resistance” against Israel — even after Israel’s full withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000.
However, the group’s influence has been severely eroded in recent months. Israeli precision strikes have eliminated much of Hezbollah’s senior leadership and crippled its military infrastructure.
The international community has made it clear that future aid to Lebanon depends on dismantling Hezbollah’s arsenal and restoring state authority. President Aoun reiterated Lebanon’s commitment to “removing weapons from all armed groups, including Hezbollah.”
Yet Hezbollah remains defiant, demanding an end to Israeli strikes, the return of five contested border areas, the release of Lebanese detainees, and the start of reconstruction in war-damaged areas before even considering disarmament.
Despite the November ceasefire, Israel continues to strike Hezbollah positions in Lebanon, citing the terror group’s ongoing rearmament in violation of the agreement.
