Lebanon’s State Security Director General, Major General Edgar Lawandos, pledged to intensify efforts to combat corruption, purge state institutions of corrupt officials and strengthen coordination among Lebanon’s security agencies, while warning that the survival of the state depends on enforcing the rule of law.
Lawandos said the directorate would remain “at the forefront of the battle against corruption” without “compromise or leniency,” stressing that “cleansing institutions is not a choice, but a condition for the survival of the state.” He added that the law must remain “the highest authority,” with the judiciary serving as the final arbiter.
“The journey continues. We are neither deterred by discordant voices nor halted by fleeting doubts,” Lawandos said, adding that the views constructive criticism as “a path to progress, not a means of destruction.”
He also vowed to shield the agency to “purge its ranks of every corrupt and corrupting individual” in order to preserve the institution as “the safety valve of the nation.”
Lawandos also argued that corruption “does not begin only at the top,” but also through “small daily practices that gradually turn into a general culture,” stressing that any violation, regardless of its size or justification, remains a breach of the law.
The remarks come amid rising tensions in Lebanon over Hezbollah’s weapons and U.S.-mediated talks with Israel. Washington, which led a third round of direct Lebanese-Israeli negotiations on May 14–15, has said Hezbollah’s disarmament is central to any broader security or peace deal, with the U.S. State Department stating on May 8 that “comprehensive peace is contingent on the full restoration of Lebanese state authority and the complete disarmament of Hezbollah,” and that the talks aim to “break decisively from the failed approach of the past two decades.”
Hezbollah, meanwhile, has escalated its rejection of the diplomatic track, warning in a statement marking the May 17, 1983 Lebanon–Israel agreement anniversary against what it called a “concessionary track” under American pressure.
The group rejected linking its arsenal to negotiations, insisting that “there is no relation whatsoever between the resistance’s weapons and negotiations with the enemy,” and urged Beirut to withdraw from direct talks it said deliver “pure gains for Israel.”
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