Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shia militant and political movement, says it will disregard a decision by Lebanon’s government to task the army with establishing a state monopoly on arms.
“We will treat this decision as if it does not exist,” Hezbollah said in a statement on Wednesday, describing it as a “grave sin”.
The comments come despite mounting international pressure for the group to disarm.
The Iranian-backed group was significantly degraded in last year’s war with Israel but has, so far, refused to give up its arsenal, despite calls from the US and domestic rivals.
Hezbollah also said that the Lebanese cabinet’s decision to try and confine arms supply and production to state forces was the result of American “diktats”.
It added that it was open to dialogue and discussions on “the national security strategy”, but not “in the context of aggression”.
On Tuesday, Lebanon’s cabinet asked the military to present a plan that will see all arms brought under state control by the end of the year.
The plan is to be presented to the cabinet by the end of this month for discussion and approval, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam told a press conference after the six-hour cabinet meeting.
In June, American officials presented a roadmap to Lebanese authorities that proposed Hezbollah’s full disarmament in exchange for Israel halting its strikes and withdrawing troops from five locations in southern Lebanon, which have been occupied despite a ceasefire deal reached in November.
The group’s leader, Naim Qassem, in a televised address while the cabinet meeting was underway, said Hezbollah would not discuss “the issue of the weapons” while Israeli attacks continue, accusing Israel of breaching the terms of the ceasefire. Israel says its attacks are to prevent Hezbollah from regrouping and rearming.
Despite its weakened status, Hezbollah still enjoys significant support among Lebanon’s Shia Muslim population, and discussions around its disarmament risk elevating tensions in the country, where many still remember the 1975-1990 civil war.