U.S. Softens Its Position On Hizbullah And Its Weapons; Special Envoy Thomas Barrack: Hizbullah Is 'A Political Party,' It Will Hand Over Only Its Heavy Weapons, And Only Over Time

Memri

21-07-2025

In the past few months, there has been a significant shift in the U.S. administration towards a softer position vis-à-vis Lebanon and also vis-à-vis Hizbullah and its weapons. This is evident in both tone and essence.
This change was reflected in the appointment of Thomas Barrack, an American businessman of Lebanese origin and the U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, to oversee the Lebanon portfolio. He replaces Morgan Ortagus, who was known for her hawkish approach to Hizbullah.[1] Barrack's softer tone regarding the Lebanese government, and the essence of his statements, surprised many in Lebanon and abroad, who had expected him to continue in Ortagus' footsteps and strongly pressure the Lebanese state to disarm Hizbullah.
However, Barrack effectively recognized Hizbullah as a political party that should not be ignored, differentiating between this and the organization's "military wing." Moreover, he avoided indicating whether the U.S. would remove Hizbullah from the list of terrorist organizations if it disarmed its military wing and focused on its political activity. The U.S. has already done this for Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), the jihadi terrorist organization that took over Syria in December 2024 and is headed by Ahmed Al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani.
Barrack also framed Hizbullah's disarmament as a domestic Lebanese issue that would have to be with Hizbullah's consent and not imposed by force, making clear that the U.S. has no intention of interfering in the matter. Furthermore, he in effect recognized Hizbullah's right to continue to possess arms by calling for it to give up only its heavy weapons, and even this only gradually, as Israel withdraws from the territory it occupied in southern Lebanon and carries out other steps.
The positions expressed by Barrack are in contrast with the traditional positions of the U.S., which does not distinguish between Hizbullah's so-called "political wing" and "military wing," but rather defines the entire organization as terrorist.[2] In addition, the U.S. has to date insisted that Hizbullah disarm completely across all of Lebanon, in accordance with the Lebanon-Israel ceasefire agreement of November 27, 2024, which is, as is known, guaranteed by the U.S. and France.
It should be noted that the early signs of this shift were apparent during the tenure of Ms. Ortagus. Although she vetoed Hizbullah's participation in the new Lebanese government, calling it "a red line," the U.S. embassy in Beirut welcomed the new government under Nawaf Salam, which preserves Hizbullah's representation in that it includes two ministers from this organization.[3]
This report will present recent statements by U.S. Special Envoy Thomas Barrack on the topic of Hizbullah's disarmament.
U.S. Special Envoy Barrack: Hizbullah – A Political Party That Has A Future In The Country
"Hizbullah is a political party. It also has a militant aspect. Hizbullah needs to see that there's a future for them, that that road is not harnessed just so we're against them and that there's an intersection of peace and prosperity for them also…"[4]
This surprising declaration – which completely contradicts the U.S. position that defines Hizbullah as a terrorist organization without any distinction between its military and political wings – was made by none other than Thomas Barrack, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, Special Envoy to Syria, and diplomat in charge of the Lebanon portfolio, at a press conference he convened in Beirut on July 7, 2025, following a meeting he had with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.
Asked how the U.S. intended to respond if Hizbullah refuses to turn over its weapons to the Lebanese government, Barrack said: "The good news for the U.S. is we don't intend to deal with it. We intend for you to deal with it, so this is not a situation of the United States coming in and saying let us tell you we want a regime change, let us tell you we're unhappy with one of your largest political parties… What we're doing is saying, you want change, you change it and we'll be there to support you. If you don't want change it's no problem. The rest of the region is moving at Mach speed and you will be left behind, sadly, you will be left behind."
Posing a rhetorical question to the journalists at the press conference, Barrack asked: "Is Hizbullah a political party in Lebanon?", and added: "… So why do you think America or France or Great Britain are going to come in and resolve a political party in a sovereign country? That's not going to happen. It's your problem. You figure it out…"[5]
Thomas Barrack, U.S. Special Envoy to Syria and U.S. ambassador to Turkey (Source: Lebanon-press.com, July 8, 2025)
The significance of the remarks by U.S. Envoy Barrack is that he recognizes Hizbullah as a legitimate political party in Lebanon that has a future in the country. At a press conference he convened in New York on July 11, he reiterated the distinction between Hizbullah's military and political wings. Although he clarified that the U.S. sees Hizbullah as a terrorist organization, he stressed that, from a Lebanese perspective, Hizbullah has a political wing. He said, "And I got in trouble the other day because I said Hizbullah has two parts. First of all, certainly America looks at it as a terrorist organization. So Hizbullah, terrorist organization, same sentence – I'm saying it. That's what it is. However, in Lebanon, it's a political party. So, in Lebanon you have 13 to 15 parliamentary participants. That's Hizbullah the political party, one of the parties that represents the Shias along with the Amal party. And you have Hizbullah the militant group, which we think is backed by Iran, which is the foreign terrorist organization, which we have issues with. The process of Hizbullah putting their arms down starts with the Lebanese government process. They have to – and the council of ministers – have to authorize that mandate and that act, and Hizballah itself, the political party, has to agree to that…"[6]
Barrack: "I Can't Answer" Whether The U.S. Will Remove Hizbullah From Its Terror List
Furthermore, Barrack did not rule out the possibility that the U.S. would remove Hizbullah from its terror list if it decided to disarm and become a regular Lebanese political party – which the U.S. administration has already done for Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham that today rules Syria. Asked at a press conference about this, Barrack replied, "It's a great question, and I'm not running from the answer, but I can't answer it."[7]
Barrack: Hizbullah Will Hand Over Only Its Heavy Arms, And Consensually
Along with accepting Hizbullah as a legitimate political element, Barrack drew back from the U.S. position in the matter of disarming Hizbullah.
In the past few months, the U.S. has been strongly pressuring the Lebanese government to disarm Hizbullah across the country, in accordance with the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire agreement that came into effect on November 27, 2024. But it is clear that this position has also changed somewhat since Barrack was placed in charge of the Lebanon portfolio.
During his first official Lebanon visit, on June 19, 2025, Barrack handed Lebanese President Joseph Aoun a document that, according to reports in the Lebanese and Arab media, included a road map for Lebanon's future. Along with demands for economic reform and normalization with Syria, it also included a demand for Hizbullah's disarmament throughout the country.[8]
At a July 11 press conference in New York, Barrack clarified that Hizbullah must consent to its disarmament – that is, the process must be coordinated with it and approved by it, not imposed on it. He said, "The process of Hizbullah putting their arms down starts with the Lebanese government process. They have to – and the council of ministers – have to authorize that mandate, and that act, and Hizbullah itself, the political party, has to agree to that."[9]
Also at the July 11 press conference, he underlined the demand that Hizullah hand over only its heavy weapons and not its light weapons, noting that the organization must agree "over a time period to forego its major weapons, right – everybody in Lebanon is packing a 357 Magnum. I mean, it's like having a belt. So we're not talking about small arms. We're talking about the weapons that could affect Israel."[10]
These statements are in line also with a report published by the Lebanese daily Al-Mudun in early July, which said that according to the road map presented by Barrack to the Lebanese government, Hizbullah must lay down its heavy weapons – missiles and drones – as Israel withdraws from the areas in southern Lebanon that it controls.[11] This too is a withdrawal from the U.S. position, which up until now has called on the Lebanese government to completely disarm Hizbullah across Lebanon, without connection to an Israeli withdrawal.
Hizbullah: We Make No Distinction Between A Political And A Military Wing; We Are One Organization With One Leadership
It should be noted that, contrary to the remarks made by U.S. Envoy Barrack, Hizbullah itself denies that there is any distinction between its political and its military wings. In an interview with the Lebanese Al-Nahar daily that was published on July 11, 2025, Ihab Hamadeh, a Hizbullah MP, said: "Hizbullah does not have two wings. It is one organization with one leadership."[12]
Similarly, in June 2013, about a month before the EU decision to add Hizbullah's military wing to the list of terrorist organizations, Na'im Qassem, who is currently Hizbullah's secretary-general, mocked the distinction between the organization's military and political wings, saying: "We do not have a military arm and another [arm] that is political. These Europeans are making themselves ridiculous… They are manipulating their own peoples [by saying] that they are conducting a dialogue with [Hizbullah's] politicians rather than with members of [its] military [arm]. They have forgotten that for us, every child is both a military man and a politician."[13]