Security
Hizbullah military activities face permanent, irreversible ban
The Lebanese President accused Hizbullah of targeting Lebanon's stability for the regime's gain, while expressing readiness for negotiations and a truce to ease tensions with Israel.
![A portrait of late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, killed in the US and Israeli operation in Iran, is seen hanging on the wall of a destroyed building, in Beirut's southern suburb of Haret Hreik, on March 15, 2026. [AFP]](/gc1/images/2026/03/21/55091-leb_khameni-600_384.webp)
By Nohad Topalian |
On March 3, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun stated that the decision to ban Hizbullah's military activities is "irreversible."
Speaking to members of the Quintet Committee, comprising the United States, France, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Qatar ambassadors, he described the decision as "final."
Aoun's stance came just one day after Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced a ban on Hizbullah's operations, citing illicit military activities originating from Lebanese territory.
Iran-backed Hizbullah fired missiles from southern Lebanon at Israel on March 1, retaliating for the killing of the regime's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Dragging Lebanon into an open war
Political writer Michel Chammai praised Aoun's stance as "excellent," noting that "it emanates from the highest legitimate authority, whereas Hizbullah has yet to sever its deep ties with Iran."
Aoun's decision banning Hizbullah's military activities is "exceptional," Hassan Qutb, director of the Lebanese Center for Research and Consulting, told Al-Fassel.
"For the first time, the highest official authority has issued such a strongly worded denunciation of the party, explicitly charging it with serving the Iranian agenda by pushing Lebanon into an open war, which subjects the country to ceaseless attacks," he added.
Readiness for direct negotiations
In a virtual meeting with Arab and European leaders on March 9, Aoun delivered harsh criticism of Hizbullah.
"Whoever launched those missiles wanted to bring about the collapse of the Lebanese state, plunging it into aggression and chaos, even at the cost of the destruction of dozens of our villages and the death of tens of thousands of our people, all for the sake of the Iranian regime's calculations," he said.
Aoun signaled Beirut's readiness for direct negotiations with Israel, proposing a four-point peace initiative to halt the war.
The initiative called for establishing a comprehensive truce and conducting direct negotiations with Israel under international auspices.
Furthermore, it included providing logistical support to the Lebanese Army to facilitate the disarmament of Hizbullah and enable control over areas of tension.
Qutb called the comprehensive truce initiative "significant," expressing hope that "international attention will help bolster Lebanon's stability and facilitate its liberation from Hizbullah's hegemony."
Analysts state the Lebanese government aims to end Hizbullah's dominance and stop Lebanon from being used for Hizbullah's military actions serving the Iranian regime's interests.
This era is the worst in Lebanon's history. Even the era of Bashir Gemayel, which I didn't support, was better than this era, which is so subservient to foreign powers.
The enemy is Israel, that much is certain. But the greater enemy is the one who ignited the fire and is now unable to extinguish it. It has consumed his fingers, his home, his family, his neighbours, his land, his livelihood, and his dreams, just as it has destroyed his pride, honour, and dignity, which he always strived to preserve. Everything has vanished, leaving only a memory that will curse him every time its dark pages are turned.
A foolish and unenforceable government decision.
A smear campaign against the resistance because it defends and repels Israeli aggression from expansion and occupation of southern Lebanon.
All your talk is just rhetorical. Hizbullah has the power to overturn every scenario you are promoting… and it has the power to subdue the political and assert its presence on the regional stage…
This party has the largest popular base in Lebanon... and it turns a blind eye to the government’s decisions because it knows they are American dictates imposed on leaders it has created...
Neither America nor the Western countries can limit Hizbullah's role in Lebanon... neither militarily nor politically...
Shame on every country that cannot protect its borders and its people, and whose land is violated, whose honoعr is defiled, and whose dignity is trampled upon by a criminal, murderous, terrorist, savage, barbaric enemy who declares day and night, and at all times, their ambitions for the territory of one country or another. And despite all this (frankness), which is a principle, a policy, and a plan of this fascist, Nazi, treacherous, hateful enemy, you find those who hold the reins of power in this country or that, submitting to the orders and dictates of this arrogant, usurping enemy, humiliated and submissive, as if they were working for this criminal, malicious, terrorist, and murderous enemy.