Jaafarite Mufti Ahmad Qabalan. (Credit: National News Agency)
The Jaafarite Mufti Ahmad Qabalan declared on Wednesday that Nawaf Salam became "prime minister thanks to the support of the Iranian revolution to the Resistance [of Hezbollah]," in a vehement statement addressed to the head of government who had told Sky News that “the era of exporting the Iranian revolution is over.”
"To Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, I say: You hold a paternal position towards the country, and provocative stances are of no use," said the mufti. "I remind you that you are Lebanon's prime minister thanks to the support of the Iranian revolution to the Resistance, which liberated the country, restored the state and lands and defeated Israel. It would therefore be natural to thank those who supported Lebanon in difficult times, instead of condemning them." Salam was appointed prime minister in January 2025. Hezbollah's deputies had then abstained from naming a candidate.
"We want to free ourselves from this duality of arms that led to a duality of decision and the loss of the national state project. Our vision for Lebanon is not a fantasy, but a realistic project: a state of law and institutions, not a state of clientelism and sectarian sharing," Salam also said in another interview.
Commenting on these statements, Qabalan affirmed: "There is no weapon more legitimate than the one that liberated Lebanon and continues to protect it." "From the standpoint of the land, history and liberation, no legitimacy surpasses that of the Resistance armament and the Lebanese Army. When Lebanon possesses F-35 aircraft and THAAD systems, we can then discuss the arming of the Resistance, which has accomplished the most complex miracles to liberate and protect the country," he added.
The F-35 aircraft (Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II) and the THAAD missile defense systems (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) are sophisticated military equipment manufactured in the United States and used by Israel.
Asked by journalists on Tuesday about Salam's statements, the head of Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc, MP Mohammad Raad, preferred "not to comment out of concern to preserve what remains of our affection" towards the head of government.
The Israeli army continues to occupy, in southern Lebanon, five points it considers "strategic," in violation of the cease-fire agreement concluded in November 2024 which demanded a complete Israeli withdrawal from the region, where the Lebanese Army is to be deployed, tasked with dismantling, along with U.N. forces, Hezbollah's infrastructures south of the Litani River.
Despite this agreement and various international resolutions on militia disarmament, Hezbollah continues to possess an arsenal, although it has been significantly impacted by the last war with Israel, between October 2023 and November 2024. A dialogue is underway between the party and President Joseph Aoun on a possible national-scale disarmament and integration within the state's defense apparatus. These discussions were launched after Aoun and the Salam government committed, from the beginning of their terms in January and February, to ensure that the Lebanese state monopolizes the arms.