Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s cabinet meets at the Baabda Palace in the presence of President Joseph Aoun on Aug.5, 2025, in Baabda. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L'Orient Today.)
BEIRUT — Cabinet's highly anticipated meeting on Hezbollah disarmament on Tuesday ended around 8:30 with an announcement from Prime Minister Nawaf Salam that the ministers have tasked the Lebanese Army with drawing up an arms monopoly plan and would meet again on the topic on Thursday.
“We have decided to continue discussions on the document presented by the U.S. on Thursday and to task the Lebanese Army with drawing up a plan for the monopoly of weapons before the end of the year and submitting it to Cabinet before the end of this month,” Salam said.
Shortly before Cabinet was adjourned, Environment Minister Tamara Elzein and Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine — affiliated with Hezbollah — left the chamber, while Administrative Development Minister Fadi Makki remained, a political source told L'Orient Today. The first two, however, remained on the Baabda Presidential Palace grounds.
According to the state-run National News Agency (NNA), President Joseph Aoun met with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam ahead of the meeting, which began at 3 p.m. and took place amid heightened tensions, following rallies Monday night by Hezbollah supporters in Beirut's southern suburbs and in the wake of recent statements by several party officials opposing disarmament.
Contacted before the session began, Hezbollah spokesperson Youssef Zein confirmed the two Hezbollah ministers' presence at the meeting. Hezbollah "is committed to safeguarding Lebanon's interests," he told L'Orient Today. "It is therefore willing to discuss the issue of its weapons within the limits set by President Joseph Aoun's inaugural address and the ministerial statement of the Salam Cabinet."
He added, however, that "any Cabinet decision that exceeds these two limits will provoke a reaction from Hezbollah ministers," stressing that this reaction could range from verbal opposition to the Cabinet decision to withdrawing from the Cabinet session. Zein, ruled out the possibility of Hezbollah ministers walking out of the session altogether.
In parallel
Qassem: 'We will not accept any timetable presented in the shadow of Israeli aggression'
Hezbollah does not reject the idea of a debate over the state's monopoly on weapons, but it makes any disarmament conditional on an Israeli army withdrawal from positions it occupies in southern Lebanon. As well as an end to cease-fire violations, as well as the release of prisoners and the launch of reconstruction efforts after the recent war.
In a video published Monday night, Hezbollah asserted that resistance was "the only choice and support for the Lebanese Army." Political contacts continued in parallel to hammer out a formula the government could adopt on Tuesday.
The international community continues to press the Lebanese authorities to disarm Hezbollah and draft a clear execution plan with precise deadlines. Israel, for its part, believes Hezbollah is weakened after the latest conflict and refuses to accept any conditions prior to disarmament.
Hezbollah supporters take to the streets
Protesting the Cabinet meeting, Hezbollah supporters rode motorcycles through several neighborhoods of Beirut's southern suburbs Monday night.
Videos posted on social media show dozens of bikers waving the party's yellow flags as they coursed through the southern suburbs, chanting "Labayka Nasrallah" (At your command, Nasrallah), in reference to the former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike on Sept. 27, 2024.
In recent days, people close to Hezbollah have openly threatened that a new show of force, similar to that of May 7, 2008, could be forthcoming. Back then, Fouad Siniora's government had tried to break Hezbollah's security grip, to which Hezbollah responded by storming West Beirut and the Mountain.
Just hours before the government session, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said, "We will only take Lebanon's interests into account and will ensure nothing threatens its security."
Several political figures have underscored the need to disarm Hezbollah. Justice Minister Adel Nassar stated in an interview with MTV that the government "will demand a timetable for handing over the weapons," arguing that "it is unacceptable for Hezbollah to drag the Lebanese along toward suicide."
MP Paula Yacoubian said, "returning to the fold of institutions is no longer a political luxury, but a condition for the nation's survival." She added, "No legitimacy surpasses that of the state, and no weapon should prevail over it."
According to our correspondent in the Bekaa, groups of young men are gathering on the Baalbek–Brital highway, raising Hezbollah flags in preparation for a car convoy in support of Hezbollah, coinciding with the Cabinet session.
