Lebanon's Aoun: Hezbollah arms issue requires quiet dialogue, not public debate

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Sunday that the issue of Hezbollah’s weapons should not be addressed publicly but handled with calm and responsible dialogue, stressing that Lebanese citizens do not want war and that the state will implement the monopoly on arms when the right conditions allow.

Speaking after a meeting with Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, Aoun said: "Any divisive issue should not be approached through the media or social platforms, but rather through quiet and responsible communication with the concerned parties."

"I am convinced that the Lebanese people do not want war, nor do they even want to hear about it," he added. "The Lebanese Armed Forces are the only institution responsible for protecting Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence."

Aoun called for handling the issue "calmly and responsibly, because it is a core matter for preserving civil peace", and said he would address it in cooperation with the government.

"Any internal disagreement in Lebanon must be approached with a reconciliatory logic," he said. "As for monopolising arms, it will be implemented, but we are waiting for the right circumstances to determine how."

The president’s comments come amid renewed debate in Lebanon over Hezbollah's weapons and its role in the country, particularly following recent statements by the group’s deputy secretary general, Naim Qassem.

On Friday, Qassem vowed that Hezbollah would not allow anyone to disarm the group, warning: "We will confront anyone who attacks the resistance or tries to disarm it, just as we confronted Israel." He said even with full US backing, Israel "could not take a single weapon from the resistance".

In a televised speech, Qassem added that calls to forcibly disarm Hezbollah were "a free service to the Israeli enemy and a sedition that will not happen". He insisted the resistance’s weapons were essential for Lebanon’s sovereignty, claiming they had liberated the country and protected its independence.

Qassem criticised what he described as "a single faction and a few discordant voices" in Lebanon who frame Hezbollah’s weapons as the main problem, saying the real issue lies with Israel’s occupation.

In response, Samir Geagea, the leader of the far-right Christian Lebanese Forces party, appeared to push back at Qassem’s remarks without naming him directly.

A former warlord during the Lebanese civil war, Geagea was imprisoned in the post-war period and later released by controversial presidential pardon.

Posting on X on Saturday, Geagea said: "Some insist on returning to the logic of threats and promises of severed hands. This is not the logic of the state, nor of democracy, and it contradicts the spirit of civil peace."

He added: "Those who follow this logic must stop using it. They should be content with the catastrophes and suffering they’ve already caused and allow the new leadership to lift the country out of the disaster their approach created."

Geagea called on political rivals to give the new president and government space to rebuild, "restore dignity and decent living to the Lebanese people, and begin the process of real state-building and reconstruction".