Latest news with #disarmHezbollah
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US envoy says satisfied with Lebanese response on disarming of Hezbollah
US envoy Thomas Barrack said Monday he was satisfied by the response of Lebanon's authorities to a request to disarm Hezbollah, although warned Lebanon risked being left behind as change sweeps other countries in the region. Lebanese leaders who took office in the aftermath of more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah have vowed a state monopoly on bearing arms, while demanding Israel comply with a November ceasefire. Israel has warned it will continue to strike until Hezbollah has been disarmed, while the movement's leader Naim Qassem said Sunday his group would not surrender or lay down its weapons in response to Israeli threats. "I'm unbelievably satisfied with the response," Barrack, Washington's ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria, told a press conference after meeting President Joseph Aoun. "It's thoughtful, it's considered. We're creating a go-forward plan," he said. "Now what it takes is a... thrust to the details, which we're going to do. We're both committed to get to the details and get a resolution," he said, adding: "I'm very, very hopeful." Lebanon's health ministry said two people were killed in Israeli strikes in the country's south on Monday, the latest report of deadly raids despite the ceasefire. - 'Future for them' - Last month, Barrack asked Lebanese leaders to formally commit to disarming Hezbollah, the only group that retained its weapons after Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war, doing so in the name of "resistance" against Israel which occupied southern Lebanon at the time. Hezbollah was heavily weakened in the latest conflict, with Israel battering the group's arsenal of missiles and rockets and killing senior commanders including longtime chief Hassan Nasrallah. The presidency said on X that Aoun handed Barrack "ideas for a comprehensive solution". Parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, said his own meeting with Barrack was constructive and "considered Lebanon's interest and sovereignty... and the demands of Hezbollah", according to a statement. Barrack said that Hezbollah "needs to see that there's a future for them, that that road is not harnessed just solely against them." He warned that "the rest of the region is moving at Mach speed, and you will be left behind", adding that "dialogue has started between Syria and Israel, just as the dialogue needs to be reinvented by Lebanon." On Friday, Syria said it was willing to cooperate with the United States to reimplement a 1974 disengagement agreement with Israel, nearly seven months after Islamists ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, a Hezbollah ally who was also backed by Iran. Syria has also admitted to holding indirect talks with Israel to reduce tensions. - Strikes - A Lebanese official told AFP on condition of anonymity that late last week, Beirut submitted an initial response to Washington, which requested modifications, then officials worked through the weekend to develop the final version. Under the ceasefire, Hezbollah was to pull its fighters back north of the Litani river, some 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the Israeli frontier. Israel was to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, but has kept them deployed in five areas that it deemed strategic. The truce was based on a United Nations Security Council resolution that says only Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers should bear arms in south Lebanon, and calls for the disarmament of all non-state groups. Lebanese authorities say they have been dismantling Hezbollah's military infrastructure in the south near the Israeli border. Hezbollah's Qassem said Sunday that Israel needed to abide by the ceasefire agreement, "withdraw from the occupied territories, stop its aggression... release the prisoners" detained during last year's war, and that reconstruction in Lebanon must begin. Only then "will we be ready for the second stage, which is to discuss the national security and defence strategy" which includes the issue of the group's disarmament, he added. bur-lg/dcp
Asharq Al-Awsat
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Barrack ‘Satisfied' with Lebanon Reply to US Roadmap to Disarm Hezbollah
US envoy Thomas Barrack said on Monday that he was "unbelievably satisfied" with the Lebanese government's reply to an American proposal on how to disarm Hezbollah. "What the government gave us was something spectacular in a very short period of time. I'm unbelievably satisfied with the response," Barrack told reporters after meeting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at Baabda Palace, without giving details of the response. Aoun's team gave Barrack a seven-page reply to his June 19 proposal. Hezbollah emerged badly damaged from a war with Israel last year that eliminated much of the group's leadership, killed thousands of its fighters and left tens of thousands of its supporters displaced from their destroyed homes. The group has been under pressure in recent months both within Lebanon and from Washington to completely relinquish its weapons. Barrack's proposal would see Hezbollah fully disarmed within four months in exchange for the withdrawal of Israeli troops occupying several posts in south Lebanon and a halt to Israeli airstrikes. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem reiterated Sunday the group's refusal to lay down its weapons before Israel withdraws from all of southern Lebanon and stops its airstrikes. Hezbollah has already relinquished a number of weapons depots in southern Lebanon to the Lebanese army in line with a US-brokered truce that ended last year's war. The truce also stipulates that Israeli troops withdraw. Hezbollah has pointed to the troops' continued occupation of at least five posts in southern Lebanon as a main violation. 'How can you expect us not to stand firm while the Israeli enemy continues its aggression, continues to occupy the five points, and continues to enter our territories and kill?' Qassem said in a video address on Sunday. 'We will not be part of legitimizing the occupation in Lebanon and the region. We will not accept normalization (with Israel).'
Khaleej Times
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Khaleej Times
US envoy says satisfied with Lebanese response on disarming of Hezbollah
US envoy Thomas Barrack said on Monday he was satisfied by the Lebanese authorities' response to Washington's request to disarm Hezbollah, which was heavily weakened in a recent war with Israel. Lebanese leaders who took office in the aftermath of the conflict have vowed a state monopoly on bearing arms, while demanding Israel comply with a November ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities with the Iran-backed group. "I'm unbelievably satisfied with the response," Barrack, Washington's ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria, told a press conference after meeting President Joseph Aoun. "It's thoughtful, it's considered. We're creating a go-forward plan. To create that, we need dialogue. What the government gave us was something spectacular," he said. "Now what it takes is a... thrust to the details, which we're going to do. We're both committed to get to the details and get a resolution," he said, adding: "I'm very, very hopeful." The presidency said on X that Aoun handed Barrack "ideas for a comprehensive solution". A Lebanese official told AFP that late last week, Beirut submitted an initial response to Washington, which then requested modifications. Lebanese officials then worked through the weekend to develop the final version, the source added, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to brief the media. During a visit last month, Barrack asked Lebanese leaders to formally commit to fully disarming Hezbollah. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said on Sunday his group would not surrender or lay down its weapons in response to Israeli threats. 'Future for them' Israel's military has continued to occupy positions in Lebanon and to strike the country despite the ceasefire, saying it is targeting Hezbollah sites and operatives and accusing Beirut of not doing enough to disarm the group. Barrack said that Hezbollah "needs to see that there's a future for them, that that road is not harnessed just solely against them, and that there's an intersection of peace and prosperity for them also". He warned that "the rest of the region is moving at Mach speed, and you will be left behind", noting that "dialogue has started between Syria and Israel, just as the dialogue needs to be reinvented by Lebanon." Under the ceasefire, Hezbollah was to pull its fighters back north of the Litani river, some 30 kilometres from the Israeli frontier. Israel was to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, but has kept them deployed in five areas that it deemed strategic. Lebanese authorities say they have been dismantling Hezbollah's military infrastructure in the south near the Israeli border. Hezbollah's Qassem said Israel must abide by the ceasefire agreement, "withdraw from the occupied territories, stop its aggression... release the prisoners" detained during last year's war, and that reconstruction in Lebanon must begin. Only then "will we be ready for the second stage, which is to discuss the national security and defence strategy" which includes the issue of group's disarmament, he added.
Reuters
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
US special envoy 'satisfied' with Lebanon reply to US roadmap to disarm Hezbollah
July 7 (Reuters) - U.S. special envoy Thomas Barrack said on Monday that he was "unbelievably satisfied" with the Lebanese government's reply to an American proposal on how to disarm Hezbollah, which had signalled in recent days that it will not give up all its arms. "What the government gave us was something spectacular in a very short period of time. I'm unbelievably satisfied with the response," Barrack told reporters after meeting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, without giving details of the response. Aoun's team gave Barrack a seven-page reply to his June 19 proposal.
LBCI
03-07-2025
- Politics
- LBCI
US Envoy Tom Barrack: Disarming Hezbollah requires a 'carrots and sticks' strategy
U.S. envoy to Beirut Tom Barrack said that implementing a plan to disarm Hezbollah will require a combination of 'carrots and sticks.' In an interview with The New York Times, Barrack explained that the plan he presented to the Lebanese government includes house-to-house weapons inspections by the Lebanese army—an effort that could face resistance from some Shiite communities that have long viewed Hezbollah as a defender of Lebanon and a force of 'resistance' against Israel. To address these concerns, he said the United States is working to secure financial support from Saudi Arabia and Qatar focused on rebuilding war-damaged areas in southern Lebanon. 'If the Shiite community in Lebanon gets something out of this, they will cooperate,' Barrack said. In the same interview, Barrack confirmed that the U.S. administration is seeking to bring Syria into the Abraham Accords while acknowledging the internal political sensitivities such a move could pose for Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. He said the U.S. has shifted its approach toward Syria, opting for incremental goals instead of imposing rigid conditions. These goals include securing a settlement with Israel, integrating U.S.-backed Kurdish forces, and uncovering the fate of missing Americans from the Syrian conflict. Barrack emphasized that democratic governance benchmarks would not be a prerequisite at this stage. Meanwhile, an official Syrian source told The New York Times that talk of signing a peace agreement with Israel is premature.
