Lebanon is bracing for renewed turmoil after Hezbollah warned it could mobilise supporters on the streets if the government pushes ahead with its plan to disarm non-state actors, including the Iran-backed group, by the end of 2025.
Senior Hezbollah official Mahmoud Qomati, deputy head of the group&rsquo;s Political Council, declared that the government&rsquo;s move was &ldquo;unconstitutional, illegitimate, and in violation of both the national charter and international law, which permits resistance under occupation.&rdquo;
Qomati said Hezbollah, along with its ally the Amal Movement, would boycott parliamentary sessions if lawmakers advanced measures to enforce the decision.
&ldquo;If we see the session moving to solidify these decisions and lay out steps for execution, we will not attend, and we will head to popular confrontation,&rdquo; Qomati warned.
He added that Hezbollah would hold back from escalation if the resolutions remained &ldquo;born dead&rdquo; and unenforced, but cautioned that their implementation would &ldquo;destabilise Lebanon.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Anyone who seeks stability whether international, regional or local, must recognise that enforcing these decisions will endanger it and serve no one&rsquo;s interest,&rdquo; he said.
Government Push and Rising Tensions
Lebanon&rsquo;s Cabinet recently approved a&nbsp;US-backed roadmap to disarm all militias by 2025, reviving UN Security Council Resolution 1701 of 2006, which had long been ignored. The move has deepened divisions and renewed fears of instability in a country already reeling from economic collapse and political deadlock.
Hezbollah argues its arsenal remains vital to counter Israel, rejecting any attempts to strip it of weapons.
Last month, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem escalated the rhetoric, saying there would be &ldquo;no life in Lebanon&rdquo; if the group&rsquo;s arms were seized by force.
&ldquo;The resistance will not surrender its weapons while aggression continues, occupation persists, and we will fight it, if necessary to confront this American-Israeli project no matter the cost,&rdquo; he warned.
Qassem accused Lebanese leaders of &ldquo;implementing an American-Israeli order to end the resistance, even if it leads to civil war and internal strife,&rdquo; urging them &ldquo;not to hand over the country to an insatiable Israeli aggressor or an American tyrant with limitless greed.&rdquo;
While Hezbollah and Amal have temporarily held off mass protests, citing space for dialogue, Qomati hinted that future demonstrations could target the US Embassy in Beirut, signaling a readiness for escalation.
Regional Backdrop
The warning comes less than a year after Hezbollah suffered heavy battlefield losses in the 2023&ndash;2024 conflict with Israel, which followed Hamas&rsquo;s October 7, 2023 massacre in southern Israel. The war saw Israel launch a major offensive in September 2024, ending in a November ceasefire but leaving Hezbollah&rsquo;s infrastructure severely damaged.
Israel has made clear it will not hesitate to strike again if Beirut fails to curb Hezbollah&rsquo;s activities. Despite the ceasefire, Israeli airstrikes continue in Lebanon, with Tel Aviv claiming they target ceasefire violations permitted under the truce.
Hezbollah&rsquo;s defiance underscores Iran&rsquo;s wider &ldquo;axis of resistance&rdquo; strategy, which has come under increasing strain after blows to Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen.
As Lebanon edges closer to enforcing the disarmament plan, the stage is set for a potential confrontation between the state, Hezbollah, and external powers, a clash that could once again test the country&rsquo;s fragile stability.

Hezbollah Threatens Street Protests Over Arms Plan

Lebanon’s US-backed disarmament roadmap sparks Hezbollah warning of mass unrest

Hezbollah Threatens Street Protests Over Arms Plan

Lebanon’s US-backed disarmament roadmap sparks Hezbollah warning of mass unrest

September 4, 2025 | 09:55 IST