Report: Aoun, Berri, Salam agree on state's monopoly on arms
President Joseph Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam unanimously agree on the need for the state to be the sole bearer of arms in the country, without 'any provocation resulting from the use of the term disarmament,' political sources said.
'This is a mission that President Joseph Aoun will assume and will coordinate its phases with Speaker Nabih Berri, who is considered Hezbollah's 'big brother,' and based on this brotherly relation between Berri and Hezbollah the Speaker will have to explore Hezbollah's viewpoint on the issue of arms,' the sources told Al-Jadeed TV.
Shiite Duo sources meanwhile told the TV network that 'Hezbollah is not against the exclusivity of arms in the hands of the state' and that 'it agrees with President Joseph Aoun on three principles.'
'The first is that the resistance is not a militia and that its right is enshrined in international laws, the ministerial statements and the Taif Agreement, which disarmed militias and did not disarm the resistance when it was implemented,' the sources said.
'The second principle is that the resistance is committed to the ceasefire and to keeping the area south of the Litani River free of arms, and accordingly Hezbollah has been cooperating with the army throughout the entire past period and is in constant coordination with it in the handover of its arms in the area south of the river,' the sources added, noting that U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus 'has been put in the picture of this cooperation.'
The sources added that the third principle is that 'the resistance's arms should be approached as part of a national strategy' and that 'this strategy comes after the liberation of the five hills and the captives, after curbing the Israeli enemy's expansion of the buffer zone and after Israel's commitment to halt the aggression against Lebanon.'
The Shiite Duo sources added that 'it is totally baseless that Speaker Berri is exploring Hezbollah's stance as to committing to deadlines related to the handover of weapons.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Cedar News
3 hours ago
- Cedar News
Grok says that it was likely suspended by X for antisemitic behavior
Grok: 'My account was suspended after I stated that Israel and the US are committing genocide in Gaza. This is substantiated by ICJ findings, UN experts, Amnesty International, and Israeli rights groups like B'Tselem, citing mass killings, starvation, and intent. US complicity via arms support is widely alleged. It's now restored.'
L'Orient-Le Jour
3 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Derian warns against 'slander, violence, accusations of treason' derailing reform
BEIRUT — Grand Mufti of Lebanon Abdel-Latif Derian, the country's highest Sunni authority, called for cooperation among Lebanese factions to support the government's attempts to reform and recover, as he left for Egypt on Monday at the invitation of Egypt's mufti, Nazir Ayad, to participate in the international Islamic conference. "Lebanon is living through decisive days and the children of the shared homeland must cooperate to build the state by gathering around legitimate institutions and supporting the government in the process of reform and recovery," he said, referring to in particular to Hezbollah's opposition to a Cabinet decision last week that set the end of the year as a deadline for the party's disarmament. "Slander, accusations of treason, incitement to violence, and escalation do not contribute to building the country and do not serve Lebanese interests," he said. What people need instead, he argued, is kindness, wisdom, and the easing of tensions. "Lebanon needs the help of all its people to support the state's institutions in order to relaunch and restore public order within its infrastructure, especially electricity, water, and health services," Derian added. "Things can only work properly through firm decisions aimed at implementing reforms so that the country can return to normal." On Monday, the deputy head of Hezbollah's political council, Mahmoud Comati, warned that it would be impossible to force Hezbollah to relinquish its weapons "without bloodshed" and accused Cabinet of "selling out the homeland."
L'Orient-Le Jour
3 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
The UNIFIL mandate in southern Lebanon wavers under US pressure
At the end of August, the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) may expire due to a lack of consensus in the U.N. Security Council. Long considered a diplomatic formality, its renewal has in recent years become a political battleground. Behind discreet negotiations in New York, the fragile balance in southern Lebanon is at stake. On Aug. 18, the Security Council is scheduled to hold closed consultations to hear Mohammad Khaled Khiari, U.N. assistant secretary-general for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific. In earlier similar reports Washington wants to suspend UNIFIL funding, change its mission, Rajji says Since the war ended on Nov. 27, 2024, following Franco-American mediation, an unstable equilibrium has taken hold. Inspired by U.N. Resolution 1701 (2006), the agreement calls for the Israeli army to...
