Israel 'ready to support Lebanon in its efforts to disarm Hezbollah'

BEIRUT — The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday welcomed Lebanon’s “efforts to work toward disarming Hezbollah” by the end of 2025 and proposed to reduce Israel’s presence in Lebanon if this disarmament is carried out.

In a message posted on X, the Israeli prime minister’s office said it recognizes “the important step taken by the Lebanese government,” calling it a “crucial opportunity for Lebanon to regain its sovereignty and restore the authority of its state institutions.”

Gradual reduction of Israeli 'presence'

“In light of this significant development, Israel is ready to support Lebanon in its efforts to disarm Hezbollah and to work together for a safer and more stable future for both countries,” the statement added.

If the Lebanese Army take the necessary steps to implement the disarmament of Hezbollah, Israel will take reciprocal measures, including a gradual reduction of the Israeli army’s presence in coordination with the U.S.-led security mechanism,” Netanyahu’s office specified.

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A committee made up of U.S., French, Lebanese, and Israeli military representatives, as well as the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), is normally responsible for upholding the terms of the late November 2024 cease-fire agreement.

The agreement went into effect after 13 months of conflict between Hezbollah and the Israeli army. Framed by U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006), the agreement includes the full Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, where the Israeli army continues to occupy five positions and where attacks are to cease, while Hezbollah must have evacuated the region south of the Litani River.

The Israeli army is still occupying parts of Lebanon and continues to carry out attacks in the south, and sometimes in other areas like the Bekaa Valley and southern Beirut. U.S. envoy Tom Barrack is traveling around the region to help enforce a truce and is expected to arrive in Beirut on Monday night.

Tehran weighs in again

After a new visit to Beirut, during which Barrack congratulated Nawaf Salam’s government for the Aug. 5 decision to disarm militias, including Hezbollah, he was in Tel Aviv on Sunday, where he was received by Netanyahu, among others, to discuss a halt to Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

Barrack proposed a “road map” for enforcing the truce, which was also approved in Beirut on Aug.7 and which includes a disarmament plan as well as other measures such as negotiations with Syria over border demarcations and aid to the Lebanese Army.

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On the Tehran side, opposition to the disarmament of Hezbollah continues to be expressed by officials, the latest being Brigadier General Iraj Masjedi, deputy coordinator of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

He said the “American-Zionist plan” for disarming Hezbollah “will never be implemented.” “Neither the Lebanese people nor the Hezbollah resistance force will accept this plan, and it will never come to pass,” General Masjedi said on Iranian television, according to comments carried by the Irib agency.

“The resistance is the Lebanese people’s weapon to defend the territory against the aggressions of the Zionist regime,” he stressed, declaring that while this discussion “is not new, it will not be implemented in any way.”

Several times since early August, Iranian officials have criticized the Cabinet and its willingness to disarm Hezbollah, which Tehran supports. Several of these comments have been criticized by the Lebanese Foreign Affairs Ministry, which has denounced “interference in Lebanese internal affairs,” though it has not summoned the Iranian ambassador in Beirut, Mojtaba Amani.

During a visit by Iranian envoy Ali Larijani to Lebanon on Aug. 13, President Joseph Aoun and Salam insisted there would be no turning back on Hezbollah's disarmament, while Larijani called for “dialogue” among the various parties.