The Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, during a televised speech on April 18, 2025. Screenshot from al-Manar.
BEIRUT — Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said during a televised speech on Friday that the party “will not allow anyone to disarm it,” even as Lebanese President Joseph Aoun reiterated the state’s aim to establish a monopoly over arms. Qassem said Hezbollah is open to talks on a “comprehensive defense strategy,” but only after Israel halts its ongoing attacks on Lebanon.
“Disarming the resistance by force would serve the enemy and only create dissent with the army,” he said. "We will not allow anyone to disarm the resistance. We will confront those who attack it just as we have confronted Israel. There will be no capitulation.”
Qassem insisted that Hezbollah’s weapons were non-negotiable under pressure. “Remove disarmament from your vocabulary,” he said. He added that only the area south of the Litani River, where the Lebanese Army is deployed, is subject to the disarmament provisions under the U.N.-brokered cease-fire that took effect Nov. 27, 2024.
“Let us first see how Israel respects the agreement, ends its attacks and halts its aerial violations. Then we can discuss other clauses of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701,” he said. The resolution, passed in 2006 following the last major war between Hezbollah and Israel, calls for no weapons south of the Litani River in southern Lebanon without state consent and affirms that no authority other than the Lebanese government shall exist there.
Dialogue, but “not under pressure”
Qassem said Hezbollah is ready to engage in dialogue once the agreement is fully respected by Israel. Any discussion should center on strengthening Lebanon’s army and integrating the resistance into a broader defense policy — but “not under the pressure of occupation.”
“The defense strategy is not about disarmament,” he said. “It’s a discussion at diplomatic, economic and military levels on national defense.” He added that only President Aoun has the authority to decide how and when the dialogue would take place.
“If the state decides to repel Israel by force and launch the battle, we are ready to fight at the border,” Qassem said.
Since the cease-fire began, Israeli strikes have continued almost daily in southern Lebanon. Qassem said Israel has launched “2,700 attacks,” killing over 140 people. On Friday, the Israeli military said it had carried out two drone strikes, killing two who it claimed were Hezbollah officials.
Israeli calls for Hezbollah’s disarmament are part of an attempt to weaken and dominate Lebanon. “These weapons prevent Israel from occupying the country,” he said, adding that Hezbollah “is not weak,” and those who believe otherwise “are deluded.”
Referencing President Aoun
Qassem also referenced Aoun’s inaugural address, quoting a passage in which the president pledged to pursue “an integrated defense policy” as part of a national security strategy.
Aoun told MPs after his election, “It is the Lebanese state, I repeat, the Lebanese state, that will eradicate the Israeli occupation and repel aggression from all Lebanese territory.”
Qassem argued that Hezbollah’s weapons are a response to Israeli expansionism and the state’s inability to defend Lebanon. “The resistance stopped Israel at the border and prevented it from achieving its goals,” he said. “That came at the price of great sacrifices.”
Municipal elections and reconstruction
Qassem also urged the government to prioritize reconstruction of areas hit by Israeli strikes and cited President Aoun’s own pledges to rebuild. The topic remains divisive, with opponents of Hezbollah arguing that the state should not bear the cost of rebuilding areas affected by a conflict that they believe Hezbollah triggered when it opened a front against Israel on Oct. 8, 2023.
As for the upcoming municipal elections, scheduled to take place every Sunday in May across various regions, Qassem said they should proceed on schedule. “We support anything that strengthens the state,” he said, adding that Hezbollah would contest the vote “in coordination with the Amal Movement, families and local clans.”
