Hezbollah Secretary-General refuses to set timetable for transfer of arms

Hezbollah announced its refusal to make a timetable for the transfer of its weapons. Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said today that his party will not accept any timetable for the transfer of its weapons as long as "Israeli aggression" against Lebanon continues. This is while the Council of Ministers is discussing the issue of the monopoly of weapons by states.

Delivering the comments in a video message to the memorial ceremony, organized by the party for the Iranian leader, Qassem continued saying that "any plan suggested for implementation under the shadow of the Israeli aggression is unacceptable to us."

He also called upon the state to "draw plans to confront pressure and threats and provide protection," rather than "strip its resistance of its capabilities and power."

He also emphasized Hezbollah had not signed any new agreement, referring to terms of the ceasefire agreement made by the Lebanese and Israeli sides in US-mediated discussions last November, amidst one year of confrontation between Hezbollah and Israel.

He warned that "if Israel launches another war against Lebanon, missiles will rain over it," as he described.

These claims were made as Lebanon's government held an afternoon session at the presidential palace to discuss the issue of restricting weapons to the state, pressured led by Washington to set a timeframe for Hezbollah's disarmament.

By this measure, a Lebanese source familiar with the ongoing talks on this subject told Agence France-Presse, on background, that "Washington is urging Lebanon to relinquish its weapons within a time frame."

US envoy Tom Barak, who has visited Beirut a number of times, had urged the government about two weeks ago to "act swiftly" to abide by its obligations to "monopolize the arms of the state."

ANHA