Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem flaunts terror operations against Israel and rejects Lebanon’s disarmament plan, reaffirming the group’s role as Iran’s rogue army on Israel’s border.
In a defiant interview broadcast Sunday night on Al-Manar TV, Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary-General Naim Qassem openly declared that the Iran-backed terror organization would never surrender its weapons, even as Lebanon’s government moves to dismantle its paramilitary power.
“Possessing weapons is an inseparable part of our legitimate right to defend our homeland,” Qassem proclaimed — a statement that underscores Hezbollah’s complete rejection of Lebanese sovereignty and the group’s continued subservience to Tehran’s regional ambitions. “Israel has nothing to do with this,” he added, attempting to whitewash Hezbollah’s decades-long record of cross-border aggression and terror attacks against Israel.
Qassem’s comments came as the Lebanese cabinet tasked the national army with formulating a plan to disarm Hezbollah by the end of 2025, an initiative widely backed by Western and Arab governments seeking to restore Lebanon’s independence from Iranian control.
But Qassem flatly dismissed the order, warning that Hezbollah would retain its arsenal “until the aggression stops.” He insisted that the Lebanese army should coordinate with “the resistance” — Hezbollah’s euphemism for its terror wing — effectively calling for the formal militarization of Lebanon’s civilian institutions under Hezbollah command.
In one of the most shocking admissions of the interview, Qassem boasted about Hezbollah’s involvement in the attack on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home in Caesarea, calling it an “intelligence and operational achievement.”
“The strike on Netanyahu’s home was deliberate… The target was the house,” he said, claiming that a Hezbollah operative had mapped the area and provided precise coordinates for the strike.
This chilling confession — broadcast proudly on Hezbollah’s own channel — exposes how deeply the terror group is entangled in Iran’s campaign to assassinate Israeli leaders and destabilize the region.
Qassem further revealed he had refused to flee to Iran during Israel’s retaliatory strikes, claiming, “Remaining was a religious and moral obligation.” His rhetoric mirrors that of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reaffirming Hezbollah’s identity as an Iranian proxy militia rather than a Lebanese movement.
As Beirut struggles to reclaim control and stabilize a collapsing economy, Qassem’s statements make clear: Hezbollah’s guns are not for Lebanon’s defense — they are aimed squarely at Israel, and at Lebanon’s democracy itself.
