Hezbollah says Lebanon disarmament plan serves Israel, vows to keep weapons

Group’s leader urges government ‘not to hand over the country to an insatiable Israeli aggressor or an American tyrant’.

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem has accused Lebanon’s government of “handing” the country to Israel by pushing for the group’s disarmament, warning it would fight to keep its weapons.

Qassem spoke in a televised address on Friday after meeting Iran’s top security chief, Ali Larijani. Tehran has long backed the Lebanese armed group.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam slammed the remarks, branding them “a veiled threat of civil war.” Salam added, “No one in Lebanon today wants a civil war, and any threats or intimidation of such a war are completely unacceptable.”

Lebanon suffered one the 20th century’s worst civil wars for 15 years, between 1975 and 1990. The war left around 200,000 people dead and an estimated 17,000 others missing. The Israeli army also occupied Lebanon during and after the war, with a full invasion in 1982, only withdrawing its troops in 2000 after being harried out by Hezbollah.

Hezbollah emerged badly weakened from last year’s war with Israel, during which longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah was assassinated in a massive Israeli strike in Beirut. Under United States pressure, the Lebanese government has ordered the army to devise a plan to disarm the group by the end of the year.

Iran, whose “axis of resistance” includes Hezbollah, has also suffered a series of setbacks, most recently in its own war with Israel, which also saw the US strike its nuclear sites.

“This is our nation together. We live in dignity together, and we build its sovereignty together – or Lebanon will have no life if you stand on the other side and try to confront us and eliminate us,” Qassem said.

“The government is implementing an American-Israeli order to end the resistance, even if it leads to civil war and internal strife,” the Hezbollah leader added.

Qassem urged the government “not to hand over the country to an insatiable Israeli aggressor or an American tyrant with limitless greed”.

He also said the government would “bear responsibility for any internal explosion and any destruction of Lebanon” as he accused it of “leading the country to ruin”.

Hezbollah and its ally the Amal party would not organise any street protests at this time, he said, while threatening to do so in future.

Reporting from Beirut, media’s Zeina Khodr said Qassem used the address to send messages to the government about the disarmament plan.

“Most of his speech was directed at the government, saying their decision is dangerous, that they are exposing the country to a major crisis, and the government will be held responsible if there is internal strife,” she said.

Before the war with Israel in October and November, Hezbollah was believed to be better armed than the Lebanese military.

Iran has expressed its opposition to the government’s disarmament plan and has promised to continue to provide support to Hezbollah.

Aoun told Larijani that he rejected any interference in the country’s internal affairs, branding as “unconstructive” Iran’s statements on plans to disarm Hezbollah.