Lebanon’s prime minister says only nation’s armed forces can defend country

By AP and ToI Staff 25 February 2025, 1:49 pm

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This handout picture released by the Lebanese presidency shows designate Prime Minister Nawaf Salam delivering a statement to the press at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut on February 8, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency/AFP)

Lebanon’s new prime minister reads his government policy statement stating that only the country’s armed forces should defend the nation in case of war.

Nawaf Salam was picked to form a new government last month after a devastating war between Israel and Hezbollah that killed scores and caused widespread destruction.

The Hezbollah terror group has kept its weapons over the past decades saying it is necessary to defend Lebanon against Israel. But many in Lebanon have been calling on the group to disarm, and such calls intensified during the latest war that stopped when a US-brokered ceasefire went into effect on Nov. 27.

Salam says the government asserts that Lebanon has the right to defend itself in case of “aggression” and only the state has the right to have weapons. He also said that the government takes measures against Israel “through its forces only.”