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Lebanese Government and Hezbollah Enter Preliminary Talks on Disarmament

Beirut pushes for exclusive state control over arms as Hezbollah signals conditional openness to dialogue tied to Israeli withdrawal.

Hezbollah fighters surround a trailer carrying the bodies of Hezbollah's former leader Hassan Nasrallah and his cousin and successor Hashem Safieddine, during a funeral procession at the Sports City Stadium in Beirut, Lebanon on February 23.
Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs following Israeli strike, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon on March 28.
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France s President Emmanuel Macron welcomes Lebanon s President Joseph Aoun during an official visit of the President of Lebanon, at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on March 28, 2025. (Photo by Magali Cohen / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by MAGALI COHEN/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)

Overview

  • The Lebanese government, under President Joseph Aoun, is advancing efforts to establish a state monopoly on weaponry, including disarming Hezbollah through dialogue rather than force.
  • Hezbollah has expressed conditional willingness to discuss its arsenal but insists on a full Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon and a halt to Israeli strikes as prerequisites.
  • Israel continues near-daily military strikes in Lebanon, citing Hezbollah targets, despite the November 2024 ceasefire agreement.
  • The United States is pressuring Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah as part of broader stabilization efforts, linking aid and reconstruction to the government’s control over all arms.
  • Iran's indirect nuclear negotiations with the US may influence Hezbollah's stance, with analysts suggesting Tehran could leverage Hezbollah’s weapons as a bargaining tool.