The leader of the Lebanese Forces, Samir Geagea. (Credit: X/@DRSamirGeagea)
The head of the Lebanese Forces, Samir Geagea, warned Monday against the "Iranian threat against Lebanon," following statements by officials in Tehran rejecting the Salam government's decision to restore the state's monopoly on weapons and disarm Hezbollah as well as other armed groups. Confronted with what the LF leader — one of Hezbollah's most outspoken critics — sees as a threat that could lead to an "Iranian military intervention," Geagea called for meetings of the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on the issue. Geagea also accused Hezbollah of "conducting an outright coup" against the state by claiming that the decisions announced by the government on Aug. 5 and 7 "do not exist."
This position was expressed in a statement released as Iran’s Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani is expected in Lebanon this week.
In the statement, Geagea denounced a "grave error" committed by parties "insisting" on saying these decisions taken last week by the government — namely the disarmament of all militias by year’s end and adoption of the American roadmap to ensure compliance with the cease-fire terms — "never existed." Hezbollah had used such wording after the Aug. 5 Cabinet session, during which the government tasked the army with drawing up a plan for disarmament by the end of the month. The LF leader stressed that the Salam government is "legitimate and legal" and has twice received a vote of confidence from Parliament: after its formation on Feb. 26, and again on July 16 following a public policy debate. "Those who pretend to ignore the government's decisions are conducting an outright coup," Geagea said, echoing the term used by pro-Hezbollah media after two consecutive Cabinet meetings to describe the government’s decision-making.
'Threats and warnings'
With these stances, Hezbollah and its allies — though not named directly in Geagea's statement — are showing they "recognize neither legitimate institutions nor their decisions, and by extension, do not acknowledge the Lebanese Constitution and, more clearly still, do not recognize the existence of the Lebanese state. This is very serious, indeed extremely serious."
The LF leader also denounced statements by Iranian officials who "utter threats and warnings" regarding the steps taken by the government, saying they "amount to incitement and, on the other hand, the threat of military intervention against the Lebanese government." The government must "seriously consider convening the Arab League Council and the Gulf Cooperation Council for extraordinary sessions to address the Iranian threat to Lebanon, as well as filing a complaint with the U.N. Security Council." He further accused Iran's "interference over the past forty years" — since Hezbollah's creation — of having "brought Lebanon to ruin."
On Saturday, an adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said his country "certainly" opposed the Lebanese government’s decision to disarm Hezbollah. On Aug. 6, Tehran stated it would support any decision taken by Hezbollah, and some media reported that Iran's foreign minister said the disarmament plan "will not work." These positions prompted reactions from the Lebanese foreign ministry, headed by Joe Rajji from the LF’s share in the cabinet, which condemned Tehran’s "unacceptable" interference, though it stopped short of summoning the ambassador.
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