(MENAFN) Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Naim Qassem declared on Friday that the group would not give up its arsenal as long as Israel remains in existence. His comments came in a televised speech delivered in Baalbek during the 40th-day commemoration of Imam Hussein, a key mourning ritual in Shia Islam that draws thousands of pilgrims each year.

“The resistance will not surrender its weapons while the (Israeli) occupation exists. We are ready to fight a Karbala-like battle if necessary against the Israeli-American project, no matter the price,” Qassem stated.

His remarks prompted a swift response from Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who addressed the issue publicly on X. He said Qassem’s language amounted to “a veiled threat of civil war,” emphasizing that “no one in Lebanon wants such a war, and any hint of it is totally unacceptable.”

The prime minister rejected claims that the government was acting on behalf of foreign powers, insisting instead that “our decisions are purely Lebanese and made in our Cabinet, no one dictates them to us.” Salam underscored that the Taif Agreement of 1989 continues to guide Lebanon’s political framework, pointing out that it mandates the state’s full control over all territory through its national armed forces.

He added that “no party in Lebanon is authorized to bear arms outside the state” and dismissed accusations that the government planned to pass Hezbollah’s weapons to Israel. “Handing over weapons to the Lebanese army is not handing them to the Israeli enemy,” Salam noted, cautioning against “irresponsible actions that could fuel strife.”

In his address, Qassem also turned his criticism toward Lebanon’s leadership, accusing the government of negligence. He argued that it “bears full responsibility for any internal strife and for neglecting its duty to defend the country’s land.”

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