Lebanon continues to claim that it will try to disarm Hezbollah. However, it appears there is yet a difficult road ahead. Over the weekend, Al-Arabiya quoted Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Youssef Raji as admitting what was widely known: Iran is behind Hezbollah’s weapons.
“In this context, the Lebanese foreign minister stressed that Hezbollah cannot hand over its weapons without an Iranian decision, and its concern today is to buy time and preserve itself internally to regain its power,” Raji said, according to the report.
On the one hand, one could see this admission as merely telling us what we already knew. On the other hand, it could be a message to Iran that Tehran needs to make a decision soon. Lebanon knows that tensions are rising with Israel. It is also closely watching the comments of US officials, such as Ambassador Tom Barrack, the US envoy to Syria.
Raji made other interesting comments as well. He said that “the inclusion of a civilian figure (former Lebanese Ambassador Simon Karam) in the Mechanism Committee [meeting with Israel on the border] is a positive step.”
“We hope this will open the door, if possible, to spare Lebanon from a large-scale military campaign that the Israelis have threatened us with,” Raji said.
He also said that he “hoped that the United States would continue to pressure the Israeli side to ‘convince’ it that Lebanon’s appointment of a civilian figure in the [Mechanism Committee] negotiations was a sufficient first step to spare Lebanon any possible military action.”
Lebanese FM indicates long road ahead before peace deal with Israel
The meeting last week at Naqoura on the border included Israeli and Lebanese participation. It is seen as a positive step.
“Nothing is decided yet. We will wait for the results of the mechanism’s work after civilians are brought into it, knowing that its mission will not change, which is to implement the provisions of the cessation of hostilities agreement signed on November 27, 2024,” the foreign minister continued.
“The negotiations mechanism will not change, and it is exclusively military... the Israeli side insists on implementing international resolutions to disarm Hezbollah throughout Lebanon,” per Raji.
Although Beirut wants to disarm Hezbollah, he said that “Lebanon is very far from signing a peace agreement with Israel, and [that] Karam is only tasked with talking about a cessation of hostilities, the Israeli withdrawal from the points it still occupies, and the handover of prisoners, i.e., purely military issues.”
Further, Raji downplayed talk of a new economic zone in southern Lebanon. He also noted that Israeli strikes on Hezbollah made any advancement difficult.
“Hezbollah is not convinced that it is in the interest of Lebanon and in its own interest as a party to hand over its weapons to the state, and the credibility of the state today depends on the extent to which it extends its authority over all Lebanese territory and confines the weapons of all armed organizations to the hands of the legitimate forces.”
Beirut knows that Hezbollah is the albatross around its neck. The terrorist organization dragged Lebanon into a conflict last year. Hezbollah was then defeated.
The ministry noted that Hezbollah was unable to support Gaza in its conflict with Israel. “There is no solution except through diplomacy, and the success of this solution is measured by the extent to which the state, with its legitimate forces, controls its territory and monopolizes weapons in its hands. Only then will the international community deal with us seriously.”
Even as Hezbollah suffered a setback, it continues to rebuild itself. This includes receiving money, the foreign minister said.
“Its work is no longer focused on the south and fighting Israel,” he added.
According to Al-Arabiya, “Raji explained that he had discussed these matters seriously with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araqchi, during meetings they had on the sidelines of regional conferences, and that the response to his invitation for a bilateral meeting would be through a diplomatic note.”
Beirut is supposed to have taken all the weapons from Hezbollah south of the Litani to move to a second phase next year. The foreign minister said that “phase two of the plan will begin next January, and it is between the southern Litani and the Awali River.”
How will this happen if Hezbollah is not disarmed south of the Litani? Unclear. “Hezbollah challenges and provokes the government every day with its Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem’s talk about rearming, while the Lebanese state does not act ‘firmly’ to implement what it has pledged,” Raji said.