The prospect of talks aimed at securing Hezbollah’s disarmament – unimaginable when it was at the zenith of its power just two years ago – underlines dramatic shifts in the Middle East power balance since Israel pummelled the Iran-backed group in a devastating conflict triggered by the Gaza war.
US-backed President Joseph Aoun, who vowed when he took office in January to establish a state monopoly on the control of arms, intends to open talks with Hezbollah over its arsenal soon, three Lebanese political sources said.
Hezbollah emerged severely weakened from the 2024 conflict with Israel when its top leaders and thousands of its fighters were killed and much of its rocket arsenal destroyed.
The blow was compounded when its ally Bashar al-Assad was toppled from power in Syria, cutting its supply lines from Iran.
The senior Hezbollah official said the group was ready to discuss its arms in the context of a national defence strategy but this hinged on Israel pulling out its troops from five hilltops in south Lebanon.
“Hezbollah is ready to discuss the matter of its arms if Israel withdraws from the five points, and halts its aggression against Lebanese,” the senior official said.
Israel, which sent ground troops into south Lebanon during the war, has largely withdrawn but decided in February not to leave the five hilltop positions. It said it intended eventually to hand them over to Lebanese troops once it was sure the security situation allowed. (Reuters)
