Sovereignty Support Movement Sovereignty for West Asia
from the News Desk at The Cradle, published August 15, 2025
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said in a speech on 15 August that the Lebanese government bears responsibility for any civil strife that may occur over its decision on disarming the resistance earlier this month.
“The Lebanese government bears full responsibility for any sedition that might occur, for any internal explosion, and for any destruction that befalls Lebanon,” Qassem said, adding that it is the state’s responsibility to “defend Lebanese land and citizens.”
“The resistance will not surrender its weapons while aggression continues and occupation remains. If necessary, we will fight this as a Karbala-like battle against the American-Israeli project, and we are confident that we will win,” he added.
“There is no life for Lebanon if you choose to stand on the other side and confront us,” he stressed, adding that the government “cannot build a state” by excluding the resistance and its community.
Qassem said that for now, Hezbollah and its ally, the Amal Movement, have “delayed taking to the streets and protesting” in order to make room for “dialogue and amendments.” Hezbollah supporters have protested since the decision was made, but have so far refrained from widespread action.
The Hezbollah leader stressed in his speech, however, that the cabinet decision on 5 August was a “dangerous” one, which “violates the national pact and destroys national security.”
“Do not involve the army in this course. The army’s national record is clean.”
“This decision strips the government of its legitimacy, especially since the Taif Accord and ministerial statement do not give it this right. The resistance draws its legitimacy from blood and liberation, not from the government,” he went on to say. “The government’s duty is to build the country, not hand it over to the Israeli and American enemy.”
Implementing this decision would “facilitate the killing of resistance fighters and their families and their expulsion from their land and homes,” Qassem said, adding that “the government should instead impose its authority and expel the Israeli enemy from Lebanon.”
“We have repeatedly said: stop the aggression and remove Israel from Lebanon, and you will have our full cooperation in discussing a national defense strategy. The government’s decision is a grave mistake — accepting the killing of its national partners in exchange for a life they were promised. You are not trying to protect Lebanon — you are protecting your own lives at the expense of your partners in this country. Can a nation be stable if one group attacks another?”
“To those calling for sovereignty and exclusive control of arms: did you not see the Israeli Chief of Staff on our land, congratulating his soldiers on the occupation and promising them more? Did you not hear Netanyahu speak of a ‘Greater Israel’?”
Qassem also discussed Israel’s continued violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon and Hezbollah’s adherence to it.
“The state accepted the ceasefire agreement, and the resistance helped it commit to it. For eight months, we have been targeted — as resistance fighters and as a resistance environment — because we believed this stage requires patience,” he said.
He also mentioned a recent poll showing that a majority of Lebanese believe the army cannot protect Lebanon alone, and that diplomacy alone is not enough.
“If you feel incapable, leave the enemy to us. Just as Israel’s repeated wars failed, this one will also fail.”
Qassem’s speech came a day after Israel launched a series of heavy airstrikes targeting southern and eastern Lebanon.
VIDEO | Israeli attacks on the Western Bekaa in eastern Lebanon earlier this evening. pic.twitter.com/q1exEJcpEB
— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) August 14, 2025
The Israeli army claimed it hit “underground routes” and military infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah.
The speech also comes after a Lebanese cabinet decision to disarm Hezbollah. The Lebanese army has been ordered to draft a plan to implement the decision and present it by the end of August.
The decision also places the end of this year as a deadline by which Hezbollah must be disarmed, in line with a US proposal and months of heavy pressure from Washington.
Hezbollah accused the government of rushing the decision without first holding dialogue with the resistance movement on a national defensive strategy. It initially said in a statement that it would “treat this decision as if it does not exist.”
Hezbollah has repeatedly stated in recent months that it would be willing to discuss incorporating its weapons into the state for use in defending and protecting Lebanon.
It stresses, however, that these discussions cannot take place until Israel withdraws its forces from south Lebanon and ends its near-daily attacks on the country.
Beirut had initially responded to Washington’s proposal for Hezbollah’s disarmament with demands that Israel withdraw and end its attacks first, but the Lebanese response was rejected.
