lebanese army

Qassem: Hezbollah to Continue "Cooperation" With LAF to Expel "Occupation"

Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday in Lebanon, where the two discussed cooperation with the Lebanese Armed Forces “to expel the occupation” and reconstruction efforts.  According to a statement by Hezbollah, Qassem talked about “the continuation of the ...

Iranian FM in Beirut: Intends to Deepen Ties with Lebanon

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Thursday during his visit to Beirut that Iran intends to deepen relations with Lebanon, presenting his visit to the country’s capital as an “opportunity to enhance political and economic cooperation.” Speaking to reporters, Araghchi said the talks focused on exchanging views with Lebanese ...

LAF Completes First Phase of Weapons Plan, Israel Deems Efforts “Insufficient”

The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) announced on Thursday the official end of the first phase of the weapons control plan, which aimed to bring all weapons south of the Litani River under state control by the end of 2025.  According to the statement, the first phase focused on “expanding the Army’s operational presence, securing vital areas, ...

Monitoring Mechanism Meets in Ras Naqoura

The Mechanism for Monitoring the Cessation of Hostilities convened on Wednesday in Ras Naqoura, with participation limited to the committee’s core military members. The meeting brought together representatives of the Lebanese Army (LAF) and the Israeli Army, alongside American and French officers and the commander of the United Nations Interim ...

Israel Strikes Southern, Eastern Lebanon

The Israeli military said Monday it launched strikes on military infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah and Hamas in the Sidon district, north of the Litani River.   Following the attack, rescue and ambulance teams rushed to the scene. Members of the Popular Rescue Regiment affiliated with the Maarouf Saad Foundation evacuated a wounded ...

Lebanon Must Become Independent of Saudi Arabia Too

If Lebanon’s Shia are to finally divorce Iran and reclaim patriotism for their nation, other sects must also place Lebanon’s national interests above the diktats of foreign patrons. That means the Sunnis, the Christian Lebanese Forces, and Walid Jumblatt’s Druze political bloc must end their humiliating dependence on Saudi Arabia. For too ...

Hezbollah Receives ‘Last-Chance Advice’ from Egypt, Qatar, Turkey to Disarm

Lebanese ministerial officials say Hezbollah on Wednesday received “last-chance advice” from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey to hand over its weapons to Lebanon’s government, according to the Arabic newspaper Asharq al-Awsat.  According to the sources, the countries warned the militant group that failing to disarm would isolate ...

Deadlock in the Second Phase of the State Monopoly on Arms

By the last day of 2025, the Lebanese government was expected to have completed the disarmament of Hezbollah nationwide, following a decision made at a Cabinet meeting at the Presidential Palace on August 5. The official statement tasked the Lebanese Army with drawing up an operational plan to restore the monopoly of weapons exclusively to the ...

Ahead of 2026, Washington's Tougher Terms for Lebanon

Heading into 2026, U.S. engagement in Lebanon has become explicitly conditioned on measurable progress toward Hezbollah’s disarmament, marking a clear break from the strategic ambiguity that long defined Washington’s approach. The aftermath of the 2024 Israel–Hezbollah conflict, alongside Lebanon’s deepening economic and political crises, ...

Fatah Hands Over Weapons to LAF in Ain al-Hilweh

Members of the Fatah movement on Tuesday handed over their weapons to the Lebanese Army (LAF) from the movement’s center in Jabal al-Halib, located on the outskirts of the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in the Saida district of southern Lebanon. The LAF deployed in the vicinity of the handover site and reinforced security measures to ...

De-Radicalizing Hezbollah's Base: A Realist Framework

Any serious discussion about de-radicalizing Hezbollah supporters must begin by discarding comforting illusions about the organization. It is not a fringe extremist group operating on the margins of Lebanese society but a heavily armed political-military organization embedded in parliament, municipalities, unions, border economies, and a regional ...

Why was Sharaa Invited to Washington, but not Aoun?

Until late 2024, Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa was a U.S.-designated terrorist with a $10 million bounty on his head for leading the al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. By contrast, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, who served as commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) until his election in January 2025, was widely regarded as one of ...