Tarek Mitri: If Israel does not respect American roadmap, we will no longer be bound to respect it

Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri said on Monday that Lebanon "will no longer be bound to respect" the roadmap presented by U.S. envoy Tom Barrack if the Israeli state continues its cease-fire violations and maintains a presence in southern Lebanon despite the truce reached in November.

"If Israel does not respect the American roadmap, we will no longer be bound to respect it," Mitri said in an interview with Al-Araby TV. "To this day we have not received any guarantees, but the United States' commitment requires pressure on Israel," he added, noting that these guarantees are "an essential condition for the implementation of the American roadmap presented by Tom Barrack."

He emphasized that "Lebanon and Hezbollah are respecting the cessation of hostilities, unlike Israel." Referring to the Lebanese authorities' decision to disarm the party, he said that "the Parliament gave the Lebanese army a deadline [to prepare a disarmament plan] without imposing a timetable."

On Tuesday, Mitri responded to Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s post on X about his meeting with U.S. envoy Tom Barrack, saying: “The prime minister continues to reaffirm Lebanon's clear position regarding the cessation of hostilities and the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territories. And, of course, no attack or criticism changes this position.”

Salam has faced accusations from pro-Hezbollah media of serving “Israeli-Saudi” interests. He is now seen as a leading figure in the sovereigntist camp, positioning himself as the official voice for the state's monopoly on arms.

Salam: No security without disarmament

His remarks come as U.S. envoy Tom Barrack toured Lebanese authorities on Monday, after their commitment to disarm militias in Lebanon, including Hezbollah. From Beirut, Barrack on Monday called on Tel Aviv to take a step in turn after the government tasked the Lebanese Army at the beginning of August with preparing a plan to disarm the party. Reacting to his remarks, an Israeli political source told the Saudi pan-Arab channel al-Hadath that the Israeli state "will play its role when Lebanon takes concrete measures."

In this context, Prime Minister Salam once again affirmed on Monday that the decision to give the Lebanese state a monopoly on arms has been made. "The decision to monopolize arms in the hands of the state has been made. Without this, there can be neither security nor stability, and without security or stability, there will be neither investment nor economic growth," he said at the Rachid Karameh International Fair in Tripoli, which he was visiting.

Hezbollah MP Hussein Hajj Hassan told Al Jazeera on Monday that "for Lebanon to commit to respecting the American roadmap, we must obtain guarantees by putting pressure on Israel."

"Washington has threatened to annex Lebanon to Bilad al-Sham if it does not comply with the American roadmap," he added. In an interview with The National on July 12, 2025, US envoy Tom Barrack spoke of an "existential threat" to Lebanon.

"You have Israel on one side, Iran on the other, and now Syria is showing itself so quickly that if Lebanon does not move, it will return to Bilad al-Sham," he said. Bilad al-Sham refers to the former name of the Syrian territory, which today includes Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Israel.