Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem Rejects Disarmament, Says Weapons Will Remain

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem rejected disarmament during his speech on "Resistance and Liberation Day," which commemorates the IDF's withdrawal from occupying southern Lebanon on May 25, 2000, and said, "There is no such thing as exclusivity of weapons or disarming Hezbollah."

“I learned from Al-Nahar that there was annoyance and restlessness in prominent Shiite circles that emerged tonight following positions marked by blunt recklessness in Sheikh Naim Qassem's speech, especially his urging to topple the government in the streets”

An-Nahar

Qassem argued that disarmament would remove Lebanon's "defensive capability, and the capability of the resistance and its people, as a prelude to extermination," adding, "Disarmament is extermination, and this is something we cannot accept."

An-Nahar

In the same address, Qassem said Israel's withdrawal was the "first liberation that took place in the Arab region without an agreement with the Israeli entity," and he praised Hezbollah's first-person view (FPV) drones while listing attacks on IDF soldiers.

The Jerusalem Post also reported that Qassem denounced the US as "not an honest actor" because it "manages Israel according to its interests," and he criticized Washington's sanctions on Hezbollah MPs and other Shi'ite officials.

Separately, The New Indian Express reported Qassem said he hoped for an Iran-US agreement that would include Lebanon, while Hezbollah and Israel have clashed since militants drew Lebanon into the Middle East war on March 2 by firing rockets at Israel after the killing of Iran's supreme leader in US-Israeli strikes.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned Hezbollah after it called for the overthrow of the Lebanese government, stating, "Hezbollah has ignored repeated calls from the legitimate Government of Lebanon to cease its attacks and respect a ceasefire."

Rubio accused Hezbollah of "actively trying to drag Lebanon back into chaos and destruction," while The Jerusalem Post reported Qassem also rejected direct negotiations between Beirut and Jerusalem and advised, "leave direct negotiations and act coy towards the US."

Euronews

In a separate report, annahar said Shiite circles expressed "annoyance and restlessness" after Qassem urged to topple the government in the streets, and it quoted Rubio replying, "We condemn the party's reckless call to overthrow the democratically elected government."

The Today | Western Mainstream report, citing L'Orient Today, said Qassem warned that Hezbollah "will confront with all [its] strength all those who confront it" and added, "The people have the right to take to the streets to topple the government."

Euronews reported Qassem rejected negotiations with Israel as "submission and surrender," and said, "If anyone thinks of surrender, let him go and surrender alone; we will not surrender, and we will remain in the field until the last breath."

As direct talks between Lebanon and Israel were set to take place in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Euronews reported Qassem said the "option of resistance" would remain in place and that Hezbollah "will not surrender" while facing what he described as "Israeli-American aggression."

“In an address to the « resilient and sacrificial Lebanese », Hizbullah’s secretary-general, Naïm Qassem, adopted a tone of combat, mourning and political firmness”

Libnanews

Euronews also said Qassem claimed the party "bore 15 months" without implementing provisions of a ceasefire agreement, including stopping the aggression, the release of prisoners, and initiating reconstruction.

The Jerusalem Post reported Qassem laid out four premises for Hezbollah and Lebanon to proceed, including that Israel is "an expansionist enemy that wants all of Lebanon and the region" and that all Lebanese factions must unite to confront Israel's "aggression."

In Today | Western Mainstream, Qassem warned the Lebanese government that it "do[es] not have the right to act as they please" and said, "If this government is unable to ensure sovereignty, it should go," tying the dispute to what he called the "Israeli-American project" targeting the country's institutions.

Libnanews described Qassem's speech as coming "in a moment of very strong tension in Lebanon" and said it warned Lebanese authorities at a time when discussions were emerging on possible direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, while it cited that, as of 9 April 2026, Israeli strikes resulted in "more than one million displaced persons" and extreme pressure on the Lebanese hospital system.