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Lebanon tensions after the decision to disarm Hezbollah
The Lebanese government has decided to disarm Hezbollah by the end of 2025, causing demonstrations of supporters of the Shiite party in Beirut. This measure, under American pressure, aims to establish the state monopoly of weapons but Hezbollah rejects the decision, conditioning any dialogue to an Israeli withdrawal.
The Lebanese government, led by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, made a historic decision by fixing at the end of 2025 the deadline for the disarmament of Hezbollah and other armed groups, entrusting the Lebanese army with the development of an action plan by the end of August. This measure, adopted during a Council of Ministers in Baabda under the chairmanship of Joseph Aoun, responds to international pressures, notably American, via the emissary Tom Barrack, to establish the monopoly of the State on arms. Hezbollah confessional risks, weakened by the 2024 war against Israel, reacted strongly, describing this decision as “serious sin” and declaring that it would consider it “nonexistent”. The Shiite party conditions any dialogue on its arsenal to an Israeli withdrawal from the five positions occupied in South Lebanon, the stopping of Israeli strikes and the reconstruction of the country.
This announcement caused tensions, with parades of Hezbollah supporters in the southern suburbs of Beirut. On a motorcycle, brandishing party flags, they chanted their support for “resistance”, recalling the coup de force of 2008. These demonstrations, perceived as provocative by its detractors, rekindled the fears of an internal conflict, although observers believe that Hezbollah, weakened, does not have the means of a new “May 7”. In 2008, Hezbollah supporters had forced the Lebanese government to review a decision that went against it. The Minister of Justice, Adel Nassar, insisted on the impossibility of leaving Hezbollah “to train Lebanon towards suicide”, while the deputy Ali Fayad denounced an attempt to transform the question into a “Lebanon-Lebanese problem”.
Support for disarmament is wide, especially among Sunnis, Druze and Christians, as well as among some Shiites not affiliated with Hezbollah. The Bishops Council Maronites praised the decision as a step towards a sovereign state. However, the withdrawal of Shiite ministers at the Council of Ministers of August 7, denouncing a “suspicious precipitation”, illustrates the divisions. Hezbollah maintains that its weapons are essential in the face of the Zionist attack. This crisis, exacerbated by Israeli violations of the ceasefire in November 2024, risks complicating the stabilization of Lebanon, already weakened by an economic crisis and denominational tensions.