By Nohad Topalian | 2025-08-21

BEIRUT -- Lebanon's government has ordered the national army to disarm Hizbullah by year's end, a move analysts have described as an unprecedented challenge to the Iran-backed group that has long monopolized force and influence in the country.

The decision follows a six-hour cabinet session on August 5 and aims to restore state control over weapons, in line with the 1989 Taif Agreement and various international resolutions.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the army must present its disarmament plan to the cabinet for approval by the end of August, with submission now expected in September, according to L'Orient-Le Jour.

"Our decisions are purely Lebanese, made within our Council of Ministers, and no one imposes them on us," he said in a video posted August 15 on X.

He described Hizbullah leader Naim Qassem's warning that "there will be no life in Lebanon" if the group is confronted as "a veiled threat of civil war."

The Lebanese Premier said such "intimidation" is "completely unacceptable."

In an interview the following day with Asharq al-Awsat, he added that no Lebanese wants a return to civil war and dismissed Qassem's warning as "propaganda directed at Hizbullah's supporters."

Salam also stressed that the government is acting in line with public demands.

"The overwhelming majority of Lebanese support the government's decision to implement a plan to restrict weapons to the state," he said.

"The national army is Lebanon's army, not the army of other groups under any pretext."

Hizbullah's grip

Hizbullah has rejected any disarmament timeline, framing it as a foreign dictate, despite it being a domestic Lebanese decision.

Political analyst Ali al-Amin described Hizbullah's arsenal as "an existential symbol" of Iranian control over Lebanon.

"Hizbullah refuses to comply with the government's plan, and its leader's threats reflect the group's state of disarray," he said.

Another political analyst, Tony Boulos, condemned Hizbullah as "a branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)" that has seized control of Lebanon with Tehran's backing.

He said the group transformed Lebanon into "a Khomeini island" and turned the state into "a logistical wing serving Iran's agenda."

Cataloguing Hizbullah's record, Boulos said the group "occupied Beirut, assassinated politicians, journalists, and activists, and dragged the country into wars."

Its arsenal, he said, "is directed against the Lebanese people and the legitimate government," and it systematically engages in "political blackmail" to manipulate constitutional processes.

"There will be no state in Lebanon and no peace in the region as long as Hizbullah maintains a political presence that shields its military operations," he told Al-Fassel.

"Today, after shifts across the Middle East, the Lebanese state has shown it can make legitimate decisions with international backing and assert control despite Hizbullah's attempts to undermine it," he added.