Lebanon's PM slams Hezbollah chief for making 'threat of civil war'
Tensions are rising as Lebanon’s government, under pressure from the US, moves forward with a plan to disarm the Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam lashed out at Hezbollah on Friday after the militant group’s leader warned the government against confronting it in the latest sign of discord in Lebanon over disarmament efforts.
Salam told the regional newspaper Asharq al-Awsat that Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem’s remarks constitute a “veiled threat of civil war.”
“There’s no one in Lebanon today who wants a civil war, and threatening and hinting at one is totally unacceptable,” Salam wrote in remarks posted on X.
In a speech on Friday, Qassem said there would be “no life” in Lebanon if the government confronts Hezbollah, claiming that Beirut’s plan to disarm it “implements the US-Israeli order to end the resistance," a term the Iran-backed group uses to refer to its military operations against Israel.
